Enhanced-growth feeding programs for dairy calves

In recent years, enhanced-growth feeding programs in dairy calves have been widely studied. It consists to feed calves high amounts of milk or milk replacer to achieve their potential growth. When calves are fed with an enhanced-growth feeding program grow around 800-1000 g/d in contrast to conventional feeding programs, that limits the offer of milk replacer to 500 g/d and calves only grow 450 g/d. Conventional feeding programs are conceived to stimulate starter consumption to improve rumen development and wean calves as soon as possible. This work consists on four studies that compare conventional and enhanced-growth feeding programs. In all the studies, conventional-fed calves consumed more starter during the preweaning period than enhanced-fed calves, but this difference was only maintained until one or two weeks after weaning. Although enhanced-fed calves maintained a numerical advantage in body weight compared with conventional-fed calves later in life, this advantage did neither reduce the age at breeding nor improve fertility at first breeding in enhanced-fed calves.

Autorentext

Marta Terré Trullà is working at Institut de Recerca i Tecnolgia Agroliamentàries (IRTA) in Caldes de Montbui (Spain) as a researcher in animal science, specialist in ruminant nutrition. She is graduated in Veterinary Science at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2000. She worked as a veterinarian in France and Spain for 3 years. She obtained the PhD Degree in Animal Science in 2007 with the Thesis titled: Enhanced-growth feeding programs: nutrition, management and long-term effects? advised by Dr. Alex Bach. She has participated in the international scientific meeting Joint Annual Meeting of American Dairy Science Association during the years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 with oral and poster communications of her work. Furthermore, she has published her work in International Journals such as Livestock Science, Journal of Dairy Research, and Animal Feed Science and Technology. She has also visited the Animal Science Department of the University of Minnesota for 3 months, and the Unité de Microbiologie of INRA-Clermont-Ferrand/Theix for other 3 months.