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Revilla-Ruiz A, Carulla P, Fernandez-Novo A, de Mercado E, Pérez-Navarro A, Patrón-Collantes R, Sebastián F, Pérez-Garnelo SS, González-Martín JV, Estellés F, Villagrá A, Astiz S. Effect of Milk-Feeding Frequency and Calcium Gluconate Supplementation on Growth, Health, and Reproductive and Metabolic Features of Holstein Heifers at a Rearing Farm. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1336. [PMID: 38731339 PMCID: PMC11083690 DOI: 10.3390/ani14091336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2024] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
We compared the effects of milk-feeding in 288 Holstein calves (72 per group) which were fed twice (2F) or thrice (3F) daily, with or without the addition of hydrogenated fat-embedded calcium gluconate (G) supplemented in the starter food and in the daily diet up to the age of 9 months, on the calves' metabolism, growth, health, and reproductive efficiency up to first pregnancy. The calves received 6 L of milk replacer (130 g/L) and had ad libitum access to water and textured calf starter with or without gluconate. Gluconate supplementation promoted a "catch-up" in growth in supplemented calves compared to their counterparts that did not receive gluconate. Gluconate appeared to reduce animal metabolic stress during key events, such as weaning and transfer into open-door pens, reducing fructosamine (352.61 vs. 303.06 in 3FG and 3F, respectively; p = 0.028) and urea (3F revealed the highest values compared with the other three groups: 19.06 for 3F vs. 13.9 (2F), 13.7 (2FG), and 14.3 (3FG), respectively, p = 0.002) from weaning onwards. The feeding of dairy calves with milk replacer three rather than two times per day tended to be associated with better health from weaning to 4 months old; parameters such as ultrasound lung score and calf health score improved over time (p < 0.001). Thrice-daily feeding with milk replacer tended to reduce the number of artificial inseminations per pregnancy in heifers by 0.2 points (p = 0.092). We confirmed significant correlations between early health and growth parameters and reproductive efficiency and a positive correlation between body weight and average daily weight gain and the thickness of the back fat layer in young heifers (r = 0.245; p < 0.0001; r = 0.214; p < 0.0001 respectively). Our study was conducted on a commercial farm with reasonably effective animal management, so baseline welfare was likely satisfactory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel Revilla-Ruiz
- Medicine and Surgery Department, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Avda. Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.R.-R.); (J.V.G.-M.)
| | - Patricia Carulla
- Institute of Animal Science and Technology, Valencia Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain; (P.C.); (F.E.)
- Cowvet SL, País Valenciano Avenue 6, 46117 Betera-Valencia, Spain; (A.P.-N.); (F.S.)
| | - Aitor Fernandez-Novo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, C/Tajo s/n, 28670 Villaviciosa de Odon, Spain; (A.F.-N.); (R.P.-C.)
| | - Eduardo de Mercado
- Animal Reproduction Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (INIA-CSIC), Avda. Pta. Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (E.d.M.); (S.S.P.-G.)
| | | | - Raquel Patrón-Collantes
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, C/Tajo s/n, 28670 Villaviciosa de Odon, Spain; (A.F.-N.); (R.P.-C.)
| | - Francisco Sebastián
- Cowvet SL, País Valenciano Avenue 6, 46117 Betera-Valencia, Spain; (A.P.-N.); (F.S.)
| | - Sonia S. Pérez-Garnelo
- Animal Reproduction Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (INIA-CSIC), Avda. Pta. Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (E.d.M.); (S.S.P.-G.)
| | - Juan V. González-Martín
- Medicine and Surgery Department, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Avda. Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.R.-R.); (J.V.G.-M.)
| | - Fernando Estellés
- Institute of Animal Science and Technology, Valencia Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain; (P.C.); (F.E.)
| | - Arantxa Villagrá
- Centro de Tecnología Animal-Institut Valencià d’Investigacions Agràries (CITA-IVIA), Polígono La Esperanza 100, 12400 Segorbe, Spain;
| | - Susana Astiz
- Animal Reproduction Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (INIA-CSIC), Avda. Pta. Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (E.d.M.); (S.S.P.-G.)
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Carulla P, Villagrá A, Estellés F, Blanco-Penedo I. Welfare implications on management strategies for rearing dairy calves: A systematic review. Part 2 - Social management. Front Vet Sci 2023; 10:1154555. [PMID: 37138913 PMCID: PMC10150551 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1154555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Raising a healthy calf up to puberty is essential for optimal farm performance. It is therefore, it is necessary to promote animal welfare from the three spheres during this short period. Social management has been postulated as essential in lowering stress and consequently improving calf welfare during this period. Only the health sphere has been studied for a long time, but more recent studies have recently promoted positive experiences and emotional states from affective states or cognitive judgment and natural living spheres. A systematic review of different management strategies in rearing dairy calves according to the three spheres of animal welfare has been conducted using an electronic search strategy. Methods The analysis and extraction of information from the studies were performed according to a protocol. From 1,783 publications screened, only 351 met the inclusion criteria. Results The publications identified in the search can be divided into two main groups, feeding and social management, based on the main topic of the publication. This review provides an overview of social management, understood as the calf's interaction with others around it. Discussion Primary social management issues that emerged were social housing with congeners, separation from the mother and human-animal interaction, distributed in the three broad spheres of animal welfare. The review highlights unresolved questions about how social management practices affect the three spheres of animal welfare at this life stage and the need to standardize good socialization practices for this stage. In conclusion, all the information shows that social housing has improved animal welfare from affective states, cognitive judgment, and natural living spheres. However, gaps in research were identified in relation to the optimal time to separate the calf from the mother, the optimal time to group with conspecifics after birth and group size. Further research on positive welfare through socialization are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Carulla
- Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
- *Correspondence: Patricia Carulla,
| | - Arantxa Villagrá
- Centro de Tecnología Animal, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, CITA-IVIA, Segorbe, Castellón, Spain
| | - Fernando Estellés
- Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Isabel Blanco-Penedo
- Departamento de Ciencia Animal, Universidad de Lleida, Lleida, Spain
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
- Isabel Blanco-Penedo,
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