Effects of amount of milk fed, and starter intake, on performance of group-housed dairy heifers during the weaning transition

To determine the effect of the amount of milk fed on performance of dairy calves during weaning, 55 female Holstein calves were randomly assigned to either a high (10 L/d) or low (5 L/d) amount of whole milk on d 3 of life. Calves were assigned to 1 of 2 milk treatments until d 48 when a 10-d weaning transition began, and all calves were weaned at d 58. Calves were housed individually for the first 21 ± 3 d of life and fed with an automated individual calf feeder, before being moved to a group pen where they were fed through an automated calf feeder. Calf starter and water were provided ad libitum from d 3, and hay was provided once they moved to the group pen. Milk and starter intake was automatically recorded daily, and BW was recorded weekly. Calves fed a high amount of whole milk had increased ADG during the preweaning period, greater BW before weaning (75.5 vs. 64.6 kg), but reduced starter intake during weaning (722 vs. 1,074 g/d). Starter intake was highly correlated with weight gain during weaning (r = 0.73), and regardless of treatment, there was large variation in starter intake during the weaning transition. The findings indicate that there is benefit to feeding an increased amount of whole milk on animal performance and that starter intake preweaning is a predictor of a successful weaning, particularly for calves fed a low amount of milk.