ANN 121: Applied Animal Nutrition-I (2+1)

FEEDING MILK REPLACER TO CALVES

• Milk replacer is fed to calves as early as at 10 days of age to replace milk from economic point of view.
• Milk replacer should resemble milk more or less on broad chemical composition especially in terms of protein quantity and quality, aminoacid quantity and quality,  fatty acids, minerals and vitamins.
• It should have a biological value equivalent to that of milk, and the ingredients used for preparing milk replacer should be low in crude fibre and free from any antimetabolites.

• In addition, milk replacer may contain butyric acid, citric acid and some antibiotics as additives to stimulate growth and to build up vitality and resistance against diseases.
• The replacement of milk by milk replacer should be gradual to facilitate its acceptance and to avoid a drop in growth rate.