Effects of Starch and Fat Concentrations in Starter Grain on Jersey Calf Performance

We investigated the nutritional needs of Jersey calves, focusing on meeting energy requirements by altering starch and fat concentrations in calf starters. Thirty-six female Jersey calves were grouped by BW and birth date and randomly assigned among 3 calf starters: 35% starch and 2% fat (HST), 20% starch and 2% fat (LST), and 35% starch and 4% fat (HST-F). The fat supplement for HST-F consisted of 20% coconut oil, 45% lard, 15% flaxseed oil, and 20% soybean oil. Calves were fed 4 L of colostrum at birth. All calves were fed the same milk replacer at 4.4 L/d during week one, 5.2 L/d during wk 2 to 7, and 2.6 L/d during wk 8 prior to weaning. Intake was measured daily and wither heights (WH) and BW were measured weekly. One week after weaning, fecal and feed samples were collected daily for 3 d. Using acid insoluble ash, apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and crude protein (CP) were determined. Neither starter (0.54, 0.52, and 0.56 kg/d, respectively for LST, HST, and HST-F) nor total DM intakes (1.05, 0.99, and 1.08 kg/d, respectively) differed among treatments. Average daily gains from birth through wk 10 were similar among groups (0.534, 0.586, and 0.550 kg/d, respectively), thus BW and WH were similar across weeks. Digestibilities of DM (66.0, 73.4, and 70.2%, respectively), NDF (50.2, 41.6, and 41.4%, respectively), and CP (65.1, 67.6, and 62.6%, respectively) were similar among treatments. Fecal scoring was evaluated on a 1-6 scale. For the first 4 weeks, there were no differences among treatments for average fecal scores and days with fecal scores of 1 to 4. Starch and fat concentrations in the starters appeared to not affect calf performance which can provide flexibility in formulation of starters based on ingredient costs.AJCC Research Foundation of the American Jersey Cattle AssociationHonors Committee for OSU's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental SciencesNo embargoAcademic Major: Animal Science