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Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The problem addressed in this study was that of enhancing healthy gut development in calves with the aim of promoting early weaning through faster growth using encapsulated calcium butyrate (ECAB, ButiPEARL™, Kemin Industries, Inc., Des Moines, IA, USA). Results showed that supplemen...

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Autores principales: Malau-Aduli, Aduli Enoch Othniel, Balogun, Razaq Oladimeji, Otto, John Roger, Verma, Sumita, Wehella, Maduka, Jones, David
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7459618/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32784505
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10081380
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author Malau-Aduli, Aduli Enoch Othniel
Balogun, Razaq Oladimeji
Otto, John Roger
Verma, Sumita
Wehella, Maduka
Jones, David
author_facet Malau-Aduli, Aduli Enoch Othniel
Balogun, Razaq Oladimeji
Otto, John Roger
Verma, Sumita
Wehella, Maduka
Jones, David
author_sort Malau-Aduli, Aduli Enoch Othniel
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: The problem addressed in this study was that of enhancing healthy gut development in calves with the aim of promoting early weaning through faster growth using encapsulated calcium butyrate (ECAB, ButiPEARL™, Kemin Industries, Inc., Des Moines, IA, USA). Results showed that supplementation of neonatal calves with ECAB at 4 kg/ton of calf starter feed, under a pasture-based dairy production system, had a significant effect on calf growth and development, presumably through improved rumen and small intestine development, gut health, feed digestibility, and nutrient absorption. This first of its kind on-farm, pasture-based, dairy farmer-driven study makes a significant novel contribution to our understanding of the impact of supplementing neonatal heifer calves with ECAB on pre-weaning and post-weaning growth performance and body conformation traits in purebred Friesian and crossbred Friesian × Swedish Red and Friesian × Jersey. The practical implication is accelerated calf growth and improved lifetime performance. ABSTRACT: The effect of supplementing neonatal heifer calves with varying levels of ECAB on pre-weaning growth performance was investigated. Post-weaning growth was also measured, to determine any carry-over effect of pre-weaning supplementation of ECAB. Forty-eight heifer calves (7 ± 0.4 days old, average liveweight of 39.3 ± 5.3 kg) were utilized in a complete randomised experimental design, comprising 16 calves per pen, randomly allocated to one of the following three treatments: (1) Basal commercial calf starter mix without ECAB (Control); (2) control plus 4 kg/ton of ECAB (Low); and (3) control plus 6 kg/ton of ECAB (High). Calves were group-fed ad libitum for 77 days (11 weeks, pre-weaning period) with free choice access to water and 5.5 L of milk per head per day through an automated feeder. Calves were weighed weekly during the pre-weaning period, after which all calves were then weaned onto the same ryegrass pasture as one group. At approximately 9 months of age, calves were weighed to estimate post-weaning body weight gain. During the pre-weaning period, average daily dry matter feed intake was similar for 4 kg/ton and 6 kg/ton calves (649 g versus 688 g, respectively) and both were greater than that of the control calves (382 g). Average daily gain (ADG) was significantly higher for 4 kg/ton calves compared to 6 kg/ton calves or control calves (0.83 ± 0.03 kg, 0.74 ± 0.03 kg and 0.71 ± 0.03 kg, respectively; p = 0.0001). Similarly, 4 kg/ton calves had significantly increased chest girth (95.9 ± 0.7 cm), withers height (88.9 ± 0.5 cm), body length (82.9 ± 0.6 cm), and body condition score (1.99 ± 0.12) compared to 6 kg/ton calves (93.4 ± 0.7 cm, 87.4 ± 0.7, 81.5 ± 0.6 cm, and 1.67 ± 0.10, respectively) or control calves (92.9 ± 0.7 cm, 88.2 ± 0.5 cm, 80.1 ± 0.6 cm, and 1.30 ± 0.08, respectively). There was significant treatment × week interaction for all pre-weaning growth parameters. Breed differences were detected but there was no treatment × breed interaction. Post-weaning, 4 kg/t calves and 6 kg/t calves had significantly higher ADG compared to control calves (0.80 ± 0.03 kg, 0.85 ± 0.03 kg versus 0.70 ± 0.03 kg, respectively; p = 0.0047). It is concluded that under the conditions of this study, supplementing heifer calves with ECAB during pre-weaning period resulted in improved growth performance and there appears to be a post-weaning carry-over effect.
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spelling pubmed-74596182020-09-02 Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System Malau-Aduli, Aduli Enoch Othniel Balogun, Razaq Oladimeji Otto, John Roger Verma, Sumita Wehella, Maduka Jones, David Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: The problem addressed in this study was that of enhancing healthy gut development in calves with the aim of promoting early weaning through faster growth using encapsulated calcium butyrate (ECAB, ButiPEARL™, Kemin Industries, Inc., Des Moines, IA, USA). Results showed that supplementation of neonatal calves with ECAB at 4 kg/ton of calf starter feed, under a pasture-based dairy production system, had a significant effect on calf growth and development, presumably through improved rumen and small intestine development, gut health, feed digestibility, and nutrient absorption. This first of its kind on-farm, pasture-based, dairy farmer-driven study makes a significant novel contribution to our understanding of the impact of supplementing neonatal heifer calves with ECAB on pre-weaning and post-weaning growth performance and body conformation traits in purebred Friesian and crossbred Friesian × Swedish Red and Friesian × Jersey. The practical implication is accelerated calf growth and improved lifetime performance. ABSTRACT: The effect of supplementing neonatal heifer calves with varying levels of ECAB on pre-weaning growth performance was investigated. Post-weaning growth was also measured, to determine any carry-over effect of pre-weaning supplementation of ECAB. Forty-eight heifer calves (7 ± 0.4 days old, average liveweight of 39.3 ± 5.3 kg) were utilized in a complete randomised experimental design, comprising 16 calves per pen, randomly allocated to one of the following three treatments: (1) Basal commercial calf starter mix without ECAB (Control); (2) control plus 4 kg/ton of ECAB (Low); and (3) control plus 6 kg/ton of ECAB (High). Calves were group-fed ad libitum for 77 days (11 weeks, pre-weaning period) with free choice access to water and 5.5 L of milk per head per day through an automated feeder. Calves were weighed weekly during the pre-weaning period, after which all calves were then weaned onto the same ryegrass pasture as one group. At approximately 9 months of age, calves were weighed to estimate post-weaning body weight gain. During the pre-weaning period, average daily dry matter feed intake was similar for 4 kg/ton and 6 kg/ton calves (649 g versus 688 g, respectively) and both were greater than that of the control calves (382 g). Average daily gain (ADG) was significantly higher for 4 kg/ton calves compared to 6 kg/ton calves or control calves (0.83 ± 0.03 kg, 0.74 ± 0.03 kg and 0.71 ± 0.03 kg, respectively; p = 0.0001). Similarly, 4 kg/ton calves had significantly increased chest girth (95.9 ± 0.7 cm), withers height (88.9 ± 0.5 cm), body length (82.9 ± 0.6 cm), and body condition score (1.99 ± 0.12) compared to 6 kg/ton calves (93.4 ± 0.7 cm, 87.4 ± 0.7, 81.5 ± 0.6 cm, and 1.67 ± 0.10, respectively) or control calves (92.9 ± 0.7 cm, 88.2 ± 0.5 cm, 80.1 ± 0.6 cm, and 1.30 ± 0.08, respectively). There was significant treatment × week interaction for all pre-weaning growth parameters. Breed differences were detected but there was no treatment × breed interaction. Post-weaning, 4 kg/t calves and 6 kg/t calves had significantly higher ADG compared to control calves (0.80 ± 0.03 kg, 0.85 ± 0.03 kg versus 0.70 ± 0.03 kg, respectively; p = 0.0047). It is concluded that under the conditions of this study, supplementing heifer calves with ECAB during pre-weaning period resulted in improved growth performance and there appears to be a post-weaning carry-over effect. MDPI 2020-08-08 /pmc/articles/PMC7459618/ /pubmed/32784505 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10081380 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Malau-Aduli, Aduli Enoch Othniel
Balogun, Razaq Oladimeji
Otto, John Roger
Verma, Sumita
Wehella, Maduka
Jones, David
Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System
title Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System
title_full Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System
title_fullStr Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System
title_full_unstemmed Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System
title_short Novel Encapsulated Calcium Butyrate Supplement Enhances On-Farm Dairy Calf Growth Performance and Body Conformation in a Pasture-Based Dairy Production System
title_sort novel encapsulated calcium butyrate supplement enhances on-farm dairy calf growth performance and body conformation in a pasture-based dairy production system
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7459618/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32784505
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10081380
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