Author : Natalino Babo Martins

Summary : The effects of milk replacer with or without forage and concentrate on production performance and rumen development of neonatal dairy calves was determined using sixteen 2 week-old calves randomly distributed to 4 dietary in a completely randomized design. Dry matter intake of calves significantly increased with the supplementation of concentrate followed by those fed forage with or without concentrate and least in those fed with milk replacer (MR) alone. Similarly, average daily weight gain was highest in calves fed concentrate and forage. Consequently, feed conversion was significantly more efficient in calves supplemented with concentrate followed by those fed forage and forage plus concentrate. Highest return above feed cost was realized in calves fed MR with concentrate, followed by those fed MR with both concentrate and forage. Supplemetation of solid feeds increased the size of the rumen. Anatomical evaluation of rumen development of experimental animals showed significant differences in papillary length and density being observed in those fed with concentrate.