1,200 grams of growth per day during the weaning period. It almost sounds too good to be true. And yet these are the proven results from the trial with three different feeding schedules in our young ruminants barns. “Exceptional, that’s what you could call the growth of these calves,” says Jeroen Jacobi, program manager Young Ruminants at Agrifirm enthusiastically. “We are very proud that calves grow so fast on our milk powder and concentrates.” What is striking is that with all three feeding schedules, which all gradually reduce milk powder, there is hardly a dip in growth.
The calves were given Kalvolac Power CAIR®. This milk powder consists of 100% dairy proteins and is therefore very digestible. “The sources are whey protein and caseinate, which calves digest very well and quickly in the small intestine, which means they need feed more quickly,” says Wilbert. And that clearly works in practice, because in the trial, the calves all eat no less than three kilos of feed per day around weaning. “DairyStart® Vitaal is a high-quality young cattle feed with 19% protein. You can feed this feed unlimitedly in combination with straw. This stimulates rumen development at its best,” Wilbert knows. “The growth in the first few months is particularly important for the development of the calf’s organs and skeleton. The costs for concentrates and milk powder are an investment in your dairy cow. This maximum growth ultimately pays for itself in milk production.”
| Average daily growth (in grams per calf per day) |
|
|
Standard |
Fast |
Extended |
| Starting phase |
(week 0 – 6) |
1.003 |
1.012 |
1.001 |
| Weaning phase |
(week 6 – 11) |
1.358 |
1.381 |
1.370 |
| Final phase |
(week 11 -13) |
1,603 |
1,649 |
1,694 |
| Average growth |
(week 0 – 13) |
1,246 |
1,264 |
1.258 |
Average growth per calf per day. The standard feeding schedule consists of a total of 55 kilos of milk powder, the fast feeding schedule of 57 kilos of milk powder and the extended feeding schedule of 69 kilos of milk powder.
Extra milk powder only useful for light calves
Feeding extra milk powder, in this trial 69 kilos instead of 55 kilos, generally has no effect on the growth of a calf in the long term. At 12 weeks, the groups in this study were the same weight. “We do see that the lightest group of calves of 42 kilos grew three to five kilos extra with the extended milk schedule. These light calves could really use the boost of extra milk powder,” says Klarieke.
This is how the trial was conducted
“In this trial, 288 Holstein bull calves with an average age of 17 days were fed with Kalvolac Power CAIR® according to three different feeding schedules,” Klarieke explains about the trial. In addition, all calves receive unlimited fresh water, calf pellets and chopped straw. In week 0, the bull calves, which come from different dairy farmers, are two weeks old. The first group received a standard milk schedule of 55 kilos of powder. From week six, the milk yield was increased in four stepsn reduced to zero liters of milk in week nine. (blue line). The second group receives a milk schedule of 57 kilos of powder. From seven weeks, this gift is quickly reduced in three steps to zero liters of milk in week nine. (orange line). The last group receives an extensive milk schedule of 69 kilos of powder. From week nine, this milk gift is also reduced in four steps to zero liters of milk in week 11. (green line).
Milk schedules in the trial, based on 150 grams of Kalvolac Power CAIR® per liter of milk. The standard feeding schedule consists of a total of 55 kilos of milk powder, the fast feeding schedule of 57 kilos of milk powder and the extended feeding schedule of 69 kilos of milk powder.