The pre-weaning phase is critical for calf development, with long-term implications for health and productivity. This study evaluated the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) supplementation on growth, ruminal fermentation, diarrhoea, and antioxidant capacity in pre-weaned Holstein calves. Ninety male calves were assigned to five GABA dosage groups (0–200 mg/day) from 11 to 75 days of age. Supplementation at 100 mg/day significantly improved average daily gain and body height without affecting diarrhoea incidence. GABA reduced total volatile fatty acids and acetate levels in the rumen, while butyrate showed a dose-dependent response. These findings suggest that 100 mg/day of GABA optimally enhances growth and regulates rumen fermentation, offering a promising strategy for improving calf performance before weaning.
Tag: calves
Sodium butyrate supplementation impacts the gastrointestinal bacteria of dairy calves before weaning
The objective of this study was to systematically investigate how sodium butyrate (SB) affects the gastrointestinal bacteria in newborn calves at different stages before weaning. Forty female newborn Holstein calves (4-day-old, 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were randomly divided into four groups; each group was supplemented with four SB doses: 0, 15, 30, and 45 g/day (ten replicates) in SB0, SB15, SB30, and SB45 groups, respectively. SB was fed with milk replacer from day 4 to day 60. Rumen fluid and feces were collected on days 2, 14, 28, 42, and 60 for 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Data were analyzed in a complete randomized design and analyzed on the online platform of Majorbio Cloud Platform. The results showed that SB significantly increased the α-diversity in feces, especially Shannon and Chao indices in SB45 and SB30 at day 60 more than in SB15 (P < 0.05). Additionally, SB significantly enhanced Firmicutes growth from day 2 to 28 and also increased Bacteroides abundance from day 28 to 42 in rumen and feces (P < 0.05). SB also significantly inhibited Proteobacteria abundance in rumen and feces during the study period (P < 0.05). SB also promoted some potential beneficial bacterial abundance, including Prevotella, Lachnospiraceae, Clostridium, Ruminococcus, and Muribaculaceae (P < 0.05). Additionally, Escherichia-Shigella abundance at SB0 was significantly lower than in the other groups (P < 0.05). In conclusion, this study firstly reported a dynamic curve showing of the SB effects on bacteria in calves before weaning. This study provides valuable evidence for the development of the gastrointestinal tract of the calves in the early stage of the life. SB supplementation improved the gastrointestinal health by regulating the bacterial populations. Key points: • The gastrointestinal tract of calves has been improved after the SB supplementation. • Microbes were the vital influential factor in the development of calves. • Intervention before weaning is an effective strategy for calf health.
Supplementation with Schizochytrium sp. enhances growth performance and antioxidant capability of dairy calves before weaning
This study aimed to determine the effect of microalgae (Schizochytrium sp., SZ) supplementation on the growth performance, rumen fermentation parameters, and antioxidant capacity of dairy calves. Fifty newborn female Holstein calves (1 d old, 39.8 ± 0.77 kg initial body weight) were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 groups (n = 10). The 5 groups of calves were fed with whole milk (d 4 to d 22) or milk replacer (d 23 to d 60) supplemented with (per calf per d) 0 g (control, SZ0), 5 g (SZ5,0.55 g/d DHA), 10 g (SZ10, 1.11 g/d DHA), 20 g (SZ20, 2.22 g/d DHA), or 40 g (SZ40, 4.44 g/d DHA) of SZ powder from day 4 to day 60. The daily supplementations of SZ were equally divided and offered twice daily (via milk pail) at 0800 and 1500 h. During the experiment, dry matter intake of whole milk/milk replacer and starter and fecal score were recorded daily, while bodyweight (BW) was measured biweekly at days 1, 14, 28, 42, and 60, and withers height was measured at days 1 and 60. Blood was sampled after the afternoon feeding from the jugular vein at days 28 and 60 for serum antioxidant capacity detection (malondialdehyde, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase). Rumen fluid was sampled after the morning feeding via a flexible esophageal tube at days 14, 28, 42 and 60 for pH, ammonia nitrogen and volatile fatty acids measurements. The final BW and average daily gain (ADG) increased quadratically as SZ increased (P < 0.05), and SZ20 group of ADG was numerically higher than other groups. Feed:gain (F:G) ratio decreased quadratically as SZ increased (P < 0.05), and SZ20 group was numerically lower than other groups. Withers height tended to increase linearly as SZ increased (P < 0.1). The concentration of propionate tended to decrease linearly as SZ increased in rumen fluid (P < 0.1). Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) increased linearly as SZ increased in blood (P < 0.05). Taken together, this study demonstrated the positive effects of SZ supplementation on growth performance and antioxidant capacity of calves. At the same time, SZ supplementation tended to reduce the concentration of rumen propionate, particularly in high dosage SZ group. Considering the above, the optimal amount of SZ supplementation for dairy calves suggested by the present study is 20 g/d. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Maternal Supply of Ruminally-Protected Lysine and Methionine During Close-Up Period Enhances Immunity and Growth Rate of Neonatal Calves
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplying ruminally-protected lysine (RPL), methionine (RPM), or the two in combination (RPML) to transition dairy cows on the immunity and performance of their offspring. Eighty heifer calves (n = 20 calves per group) were assigned to four treatments based on their dam diet; basal diet (CON), a basal diet with lysine [RPL, 0.33% of dry matter (DM)], a basal diet with methionine (RPM, 0.16% DM), or with the combination (RPML). Calves were fed colostrum from their dams within 2 h of birth. Calves were then fed milk only (d 2–22), a combination of milk and milk replacer (d 23–25), and milk replacer (d 25–60). Starter feed was fed to the calves twice daily after liquid feeding. Calves blood samples were collected after calving on 0, 12, 24, and 48 h and 5 and 7 d after birth. Data were analyzed by SAS software v9.4. Providing ruminally-protected amino acids (RPAA) to transition cows improved colostrum quality compared to the CON (Brix; P < 0.01). Serum total protein concentrations were higher in calves from supplemented cows than in calves from unsupplemented cows (P < 0.01). Calves born to dams in the RPM, RPL, and RPML groups had higher plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations 0, 12, 24, and 48 h and 7 d after birth than those born to dams in the CON group (P < 0.05). The percentage of calves with adequate passive immunity transfer was increased with RPM and RPL or the two in combination (P < 0.01). However, there was no difference in the percentage of calves with adequate passive immunity transfer between the RPM and RPL groups (P = 0.21). Calves from cows that receive supplemental RPAA have a greater average daily gain (ADG) than those born to cows in the CON group (P < 0.01). These results indicate that maternal supplementation with RPM or RPL or the two in combination during the periparturient period could be an alternative strategy to improve the performance of calves, especially in accelerated growth programs in calves. Copyright © 2021 Wang, Elsaadawy, Wu and Bu.
Effects of different physical forms of starter on digestibility, growth, health, selected rumen parameters and blood metabolites in Holstein calves
This study was designed to determine whether physical forms of starter feed could influence digestion, growth, rumen fermentation parameters, and blood metabolites in Holstein dairy calves. Sixty-three female calves (averaging 41 kg body weight (BW)) were randomly assigned to 1 of the following 3 starter diets differing in physical form or formulation: texturized starter (TS; n = 21), pelleted starter with the same formula as TS (PSA; n = 21), and a commercial pelleted starter (PSB; n = 21) with a different formulation. Twelve male calves were selected and randomly assigned to each treatment group to determine feed digestibility using indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) and acid insoluble ash (AIA) as the internal markers. The dry matter intake (DMI) of calves in three treatments was not different within the first 6 wk (P = 0.19), and there were also similar gain-to-feed ratios (P = 0.91) and Average daily gain (ADG) (P = 0.26). During wk 7, starter DMI of the calves in TS and PSA groups was greater than PSB animals (P < 0.01). The ADG of TS and PSA-fed groups were greater than the animals fed with PSB during wk 7. Offering TS resulted in tendentionally greater starter DMI and ADG than PSA during the following 2 wk after weaning (P = 0.08, P = 0.09). During the 9-wk study, calves receiving PSB had lower ADG than the other two treatments (P = 0.04), but there were no differences in gain-to-feed ratio (P = 0.86). Serum biochemical parameters were not different among the 3 treatments. Calves began exhibiting ruminating behavior for TS about 2 d numerically earlier than that for PSA and PSB (P = 0.54). Butyrate in the rumen of PSB-fed animals was greater than in PSA and TS calves (P < 0.01) on day 63. Also, PSB-fed calves had a greater ruminal acetate: propionate ratio than calves receiving PSA and TS (P < 0.01) on day 49. The TS starter had the lowest digestibility of CP, DM, and ADF (P < 0.01) by both digestibility methods. Overall, the pelleted starter with soybeans and distillers dried grains had lower DMI and ADG than the other pelleted starter and texturized starter which had the same formulation. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves growth and antioxidant function in dairy calves before weaning
Background: There is increasing research interest in using short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in animal production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of sodium butyrate (SB) in liquid feeds (milk, milk replacer, and the mixture of both) on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and serum antioxidant capacity and immunoglobins in dairy calves before weaning. Forty healthy female Holstein calves (4-day-old, 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were housed in individual hutches and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per group) using the RAND function in Excel. The control group was fed no SB (SB0), while the other three groups were supplemented with 15 (SB15), 30 (SB30), or 45 (SB45) g/d of SB mixed into liquid feeds offered. The calves were initially fed milk only (days 2 to 20), then a mixture of milk and milk replacer (days 21 to 23), and finally milk replacer only (days 24 to 60). Results: The SB supplementation enhanced growth and improved feed conversion into body weight gain compared with the SB0 group, and the average daily gain increased quadratically with increasing SB supplementation. No significant effect on rumen pH; concentrations of NH3-N, individual and total VFAs; or acetate: propionate (A:P) ratio was found during the whole experimental period. Serum glutathione peroxidase activity increased linearly with the increased SB supplementation, while the serum concentration of maleic dialdehyde linearly decreased. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, or immunoglobulin M were not affected by the SB supplementation during the whole experimental period. Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, SB supplementation improved growth performance and antioxidant function in pre-weaned dairy calves. We recommended 45 g/d as the optimal level of SB supplementation mixed into liquid feeds (milk or milk replacer) to improve the growth and antioxidant function of dairy calves before weaning. © 2021, The Author(s).