Increased Productivity in Calves Fed a Fatty Acid Supplement in Milk Replacer

Abstract

Diarrhea treatment protocols that depend on antibiotic therapy need to be replaced with strategies that utilize management and nutrition to minimize economic losses from calf diarrhea. It is logical to formulate milk replacers that copy cow’s milk as closely as possible. Calf milk replacers are typically formulated with a fatty acid profile that does not exactly match that of cow’s milk (butterfat). Much research has been done to study the effects of many different nutrients. Recent work has looked at the effect of bringing fatty acid levels closer to cow’s milk (Hill et al, J Dairy Sci 92(2), 2009). This is a study to explore the effect of using a fatty acid supplement in a farm production setting.