- Title
- A comparative assessment of dairy calf feeding management systems at Fernwood Dairy Farm, Alexandria, Eastern Cape
- Creator
- Phakwago, Potego Steward Kgaditsi
- Subject
- Dairy cattle -- Nutrition -- Requirements
- Subject
- Dairy cattle -- Feeding and feeds
- Subject
- Cattle -- Feed utilization efficiency
- Date Issued
- 2014
- Date
- 2014
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MTech
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48069
- Identifier
- vital:40468
- Description
- The study compared fresh milk as group control to three different milk replacers (Blossom® Easymix, Denkavit® Milk-Bar and Surromel® Calf) and two milk supplements (Byboost Calf® and SupaCalf®) mixed with fresh milk at Fernwood Dairy Farm in Alexandria, Eastern Cape. The objectives of the study were to compare the growth rate of the calves in a trial from day two to 49 at weaning and to calculate average daily gain with the aim of comparison of the cost/weight gain ratio of each liquid feed fed. Sixty Holstein (60) heifer calves were used in a completely randomised design to calculate average daily body weight gains in the six calf groups fed six different milk feeds. Calves were fed four litres liquid feeds every day. Water and solid feeds (Olifantskop® calf starter pellets and lucerne hay) were available. Results comprise of details regarding weather conditions, weight gain results, and body stature measurements, including body weight, wither height, hip height and heart girth. Statistical analysis of the weight gain and body stature measurements was essential to determine the usefulness and reliability of the research data. Results of the statistical calculations indicated that the body weight gain data provided very useful results with statistical significant differences between the six groups (F=5.09; P=0.0008). Body stature measurements are not as reliable. Results are summarised as follows: Liquid feed Cost/kg weight gain Average daily gain • Fresh milk R 34.29 0.50 kg/day • Blossom®Easymix R39.25 0.35 kg/day • Denkavit® Milk-Bar R22.57 0.42 kg/day • Surromel® Calf R23.48 0.39 kg/day • Fresh milk + Byboost Calf® R37.46 0.47 kg/day • Fresh milk +SupaCalf® R29.76 0.62 kg/day Comparison of the cost/weight gain ratio of milk replacers and fresh milk draws the following conclusions: The cost of feeding a calf was significantly lower when milk replacers Denkavit® and Surromel® were used; however this yielded a lower average daily gain when compared with that of fresh milk. Denkavit® milk replacer had a lower cost than fresh milk in terms of the average daily gain. The cost of the Denkavit was the lowest of all the products (R22.56/kg) and was in the fourth position in weight gain (0.42kg/day). Surromel® lay in the fifth place for both cost (R23.48/kg) and weight gain (0.39 kg/day). Blossom® Easymix milk replacer had a higher cost than fresh milk. Blossom was the most costly of all the feeds (R39.25/kg) but had the lowest average daily gain (0.35 kg/day). Comparison of fresh milk plus additives to fresh milk alone: The use of SupaCalf® additive to fresh milk resulted in the highest average daily gain of 0.62 kg/day at a cost of R29.76/kg which was more cost effective than the control fresh milk group (0.50 kg/day, R34.29/kg), When using Byboost® additive the average daily gain of 0.47 kg/day at a cost of R37.46, less cost effective than fresh milk (0.50 kg/day, R34.29). Statistical analysis of body stature measurements yielded one significant result(F=3.20; p=0.0140) confirming that use of SupaCalf® additive resulted in the biggest heart girth increase at 16.90 cm and the smallest being Blossom® Easymix at 11.88 cm. Figure for the control fresh milk group was 12.86 cm. Dairy calves all over the world are fed different feeds depending on the farm owner or manager’s preference and budget. For those who have been in the industry for a while as well as the newcomers, this study can help when weighing options and deciding on which feeds to use.
- Format
- xiv, 112 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | POTEGO STEWARD KGADITSI PHAKWAGO.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |