Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1991, 51: 323-326
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1991, 51: 323-326
Forty-eight, four week old Friesian calves were allocated to one of four treatments (in two replicates) and offered reconstituted milk replacers (140 g/l) : MH and VH, 81 daily for 3 weeks plus ad lib meal for two weeks; MR and VR, 41 daily for 5 weeks.
Replacer M gave significantly (P<0.01) greater liveweight gains over the first 3 weeks for calves in treatment H but not in R. Treatment H calves showed a temporary growth check following weaning and again following the termination of meal feeding. Treatment R calves showed a progressive increase in daily rates of gain during the experiment.
By 5-6 months of age the mean body weights of calves in all four groups were similar indicating that there were no adverse carry-over effects of replacer V, or the system of feeding. Significant savings in the cost of calf rearing are therefore possible.
Keywords: NZSAPAB; Calves; soya flour; milk substitutes
