What do preweaned and weaned calves need in the diet: a high fiber content or a forage source?

The objective of this study was to determine whether the improvement of performance of young calves associated with the supplementation of chopped grass hay reported in some studies is due to an increase in the total neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content of the consumed diet or to the provision of chopped grass hay. Sixty-three Holstein calves [9±4.4 d old; mean ± standard deviation (SD)] were randomly distributed in 4 treatments resulting from the combination of 2 levels of NDF content of a pelleted starter and the supply or absence of forage provision: low-NDF starter (18%) with or without chopped oat hay, and high-NDF starter (27%) with or without chopped oat hay. All animals were fed the same milk replacer (21% crude protein and 19.2% fat) at the rate of 4 L/d at 15% dry matter from d 1 to 34, and 2 L/d at 15% dry matter from d 35 to 42 (weaning). The study finished 2 wk after weaning. Body weight was measured weekly and individual calf starter and hay intake was recorded daily. On d 50, blood samples were drawn 2h after the morning concentrate offer to determine serum glucose and insulin concentrations. On d 52, samples of ruminal fluid were obtained via an esophageal tube, and pH was measured immediately. During the preweaning period, pelleted starter intake was similar among treatments, but average daily gain tended to be greater in low- than in high-NDF treatments (0.69 vs. 0.63±0.020 kg/d, respectively; mean ± SD). However, during the 2 wk after weaning, supplementation of forage improved pelleted starter intake and average daily gain without affecting the gain-to-feed ratio. Probably, the greater pelleted starter intake observed in forage-supplemented calves was mainly due to the greater ruminal pH found in forage-supplemented calves compared with forage-deprived calves (5.81 vs. 5.05±0.063, respectively). Blood insulin-to-glucose ratio was greater in forage-supplemented compared with unsupplemented calves [mean ± SD; 6.53 vs. 4.24±0.125 insulin (ng/L)-to-glucose (mg/dL) ratio, respectively]. In conclusion, a low-NDF pelleted starter is recommended during the preweaning period, and the provision of chopped hay is necessary right after weaning to improve calf performance.