By Allison Welk
Neonatal calf diarrhea is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in dairy calves < 1 mo of age and presents notable challenges to dairy farmers, impacting calf health, welfare, and economic viability. This randomized clinical trial aimed to evaluate the effects of intervening with colostrum at the time of a disease alert generated by automated milk feeders on feeding behaviour and performance in Holstein dairy calves predisposed to diarrhea. Eighteen calves were offered 15L/d of milk replacer by an automated milk feeder where an alert validated to identify calves at risk for diarrhea was programmed (≤60% rolling dividends in milk intake and/or drinking speed over 2d). At the first alert, calves were randomly allocated to receive either 1L of colostrum replacer mixed at 130g/L (CR) or 1L of milk replacer mixed at 150g/L (MR) by bottle for 4d. Fecal consistency was scored daily, and diarrhea was diagnosed when calves had loose feces for ≥ 2d or watery feces for ≥ 1d. Body weight was collected on alert d and 2x weekly thereafter. Mixed linear models evaluated the association of treatment with milk intake, drinking speed, and ADG for 7d after the alert, and final body weight at 7d after the alert. Calves triggered the alert at (mean ±SD) 10 ± 3d of age and were diagnosed with diarrhea at 11 ± 2d. There was no association of treatment with milk intake (CR: 8.7±0.62 vs MR: 7.4±0.59L/d, P =0.15) or drinking speed (CR: 0.40±0.03 vs MR: 0.35±0.03L/min, P =0.31). Calves provided CR had greater ADG (CR: 1.01±0.11 vs MR: 0.67±0.11kg/d, P =0.04) and weighed 5kg more at 7d after alert (CR: 55.1±1.71 vs MR: 50.3±1.57kg, P =0.01). Preliminary results from this study suggest that providing colostrum during a diarrhea alert could improve weight gain over the 7d after the alert.
