Effects of amount of colostrum replacer, amount of milk replacer, and housing cleanliness on health, growth, and intake of Holstein calves to 8 weeks of age

Newborn Holstein bull calves (n = 96) were assigned randomly at birth to receive 150 g (C150) or 450 g (C450) of IgG in the first 24 h of life from a lacteal-based colostrum replacer in 2 trials. Mass of product fed was 500 and 1,500 g, respectively. Replacer was reconstituted with warm water and administered by esophageal feeder at approximately 1, 6, and 12 h of age. Thereafter, calves were fed 2 L of whole milk twice daily at approximately 0700 and 1700 h until transported to the experimental facility at 2 to 3 d of age. Calves fed C450 had greater serum total protein and IgG concentrations at 2 to 3 d of age. Failure of passive transfer of immunity (serum IgG <10 g/L) was detected in 100 and 11% of calves fed C150 and C450, respectively. Calves (n = 48) in trial 1 were assigned randomly within colostrum group to receive 0.68 kg/d of milk replacer (MR) for 42 d, and then 0.34 kg/d for 7 d (moderate MR, MMR) or 1 kg/d of MR for 5 d, 1.36 kg/d for 37 d, and 0.68 kg/d for 7 d (high MR, HMR). Starter and water were available for ad libitum consumption. Calves fed HMR had greater average daily gain, higher average fecal scores, more days with abnormal fecal scores, and more medical days than calves fed MMR. Calves fed HMR also had lower starter intake and tended to have lower gain-to-feed ratio than calves fed MMR. Calves fed C450 and MMR began eating calf starter earlier and ate more starter than other groups from 3 wk. In trial 2, calves (n = 48) were assigned randomly within colostrum group to housing in nursery pens bedded with clean, dry straw (clean bedding) or soiled straw used in previous studies (dirty bedding). Milk replacer was fed at 0.68 kg/d for 39 d, and then 0.34 kg/d for 3 d along with free-choice texturized starter and water. Calves fed C450 had fewer days with abnormal fecal scores and days with medical treatments compared with calves fed C150. Calves housed in dirty bedding tended to grow more slowly and have lower gain-to-feed ratio than calves housed with clean bedding. Temporal changes in serum IgG and total protein varied by treatment. Serum IgG in calves fed C150 varied little from 0 to 4 wk and increased thereafter, whereas IgG in calves fed C450 declined to 4 wk (estimated half-life = 23.9 d) and increased thereafter. Differences in serum IgG concentrations caused by feeding different amounts of colostrum replacer did not markedly affect growth or intake when calves were fed different amounts of milk replacer or when they were housed with clean or dirty bedding.