Calves on the 25-15 treatment received 1.5 pounds of milk replacer powder per day throughout the trial.
#Struggle session premium feed trial#
Table 2 shows trial results comparing milk replacer and starter intakes of calves on a 25-15 program vs. Differences in starter quality resulted in Starter A calves being 18 to 20 pounds heavier than their counterparts on Starter B by the end of the trial.Īnother reason for starter intake depression is the design of the milk replacer feeding program. By week 8, Starter B calves were eating 3 pounds per day less starter than calves on Starter A. This point was pushed back to weaning time for the 25-15 calves.
![struggle session premium feed struggle session premium feed](https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/venturebeattweet.jpg)
The transition point where energy from starter intake surpassed that of milk replacer was delayed more than a week for 20-20 calves. The Energy Intake graph below shows calf response to Starter B. Starter B is a drier feed, containing little molasses, more pellets, less grain and more small, broken particles (fines). Both starters were commercially available with similar nutrient analyses. Two other treatment groups of 20-20 and 25-15 calves received Starter B instead of Starter A. The treatment results described above are for calves that received Starter A, pictured below on the left. Now look at what happens when you change starter quality. This transition point was a couple days later for calves on the 25-15 program.
![struggle session premium feed struggle session premium feed](https://www.a-list.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/the-struggle-is-real-online-event.jpg)
For calves on the 20-20 program, energy from starter intakes surpassed energy from milk replacer at about 4 weeks. Energy provided by the amount of starter each day is shown by the green line. The following graph shows the energy intake from the different feed sources during the trial.Įnergy provided by the two milk replacers are shown by the blue and red horizontal lines. After weaning, calves on the 25-15 treatment consumed more starter than 20-20 calves. Feed values in the table are As-fed and are cumulative from the beginning of the trial.ĭespite different formulas and feed rates, calves on both treatments ate the same amount of starter by weaning. During weeks 7 and 8, calves received only starter feed and free-choice water. Total feed intake for these calves was 112 pounds by the end of week 6. Calves on the 25-15 treatment consumed 63 pounds of milk replacer powder and also ate 49 pounds of starter. All calves and were weaned at the end of Week 6.īy week 6, calves on the 20-20 treatment consumed 42 pounds of milk replacer powder and 49 pounds of calf starter feed for a total feed intake of 91 pounds.
![struggle session premium feed struggle session premium feed](https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/img_0039.jpg)
#Struggle session premium feed free#
All calves received milk replacer twice-a-day and had access to free choice water and starter. Calves on the 25-15 formula received 24 oz of powder in one gallon of water each day. Calves on the 20-20 (20% protein, 20% fat) all milk protein formula received 16 oz of milk replacer powder in one gallon of water each day. In general, we expect to see calf starter intake delayed as milk replacer intake increases. But that’s not a hard, fast rule. Table 1 shows feed consumption results for a research trial comparing two milk replacer formulas and feeding schedules.
![struggle session premium feed struggle session premium feed](https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/siriauthenticate.jpg)
This changes the supporting role of calf starter feed in early growth. Starter quality and the milk replacer feeding program have a big impact on starter intake in pre-weaning calf growth. Calves grow bigger in a shorter period of time mainly due to consumption of more milk or milk replacer. Milk replacer feeding rates have received much attention over the past several years.