Effect of the Initial Time of Providing Oat Hay on Performance, Health, Behavior and Rumen Fermentation in Holstein Female Calves
Tianyu Chen,
Jianxin Xiao,
Tingting Li,
Jing Ma,
Gibson Maswayi Alugongo,
Muhammad Zahoor Khan,
Shuai Liu,
Wei Wang,
Yajing Wang,
Shengli Li,
Zhijun Cao
Affiliations
Tianyu Chen
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Jianxin Xiao
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Tingting Li
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Jing Ma
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Gibson Maswayi Alugongo
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Muhammad Zahoor Khan
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Shuai Liu
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Wei Wang
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Yajing Wang
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Shengli Li
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Zhijun Cao
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center of Raw Milk Quality and Safety Control, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
For determining the appropriate time of feeding hay, 210 healthy Holstein calves at day two were randomly divided into three groups: basic diet (calf starter) without hay (CON), and the inclusion of oat hay from the second week (H2) or fourth week (H4) with basic diet. Calves were weaned on day 56 and raised until day 70. Calf starter intake and fecal scores were recorded daily. The body weight, body size, and rumen fluid samples were collected every two weeks before and once a week after weaning. Compared to the basic diet group, the calves that were receiving oat hay from the second week had the highest starter intake (1086.1 g vs. 925.6 g; p p p p p p p p p < 0.01). In conclusion, calves supplemented with oat hay had an improved growth rate and rumen environment compared to calves fed calf starter only.
