Rearing dairy replacements on the Atherton Tableland, Queensland. I. Effect of suckling system, bucket feeding and protein supplementation

Abstract

Ninety-six calves, born between October 1973 and March 1974, were either bucket fed once daily on a commercial milk replacer, or multiple suckled at four calves cow-1 with either free or limited access (two calves in the morning and two in the afternoon). Bucket reared and limited access suckled calves were supplemented ad libitum with either maize or a 5:1 maize, bloodmeal mix. Free access suckled calves received ad libitum maize or were unsupplemented. Weaning was at 56 days of age. Growth rates of calves from birth to eight weeks were 0.36, 0.44 and 0.47 kg day-1 for the bucket fed, free access suckled and limited access suckled calves respectively. Major differences in growth rate occurred from birth to four weeks of age. Growth rate of calves with free access suckling from four to eight weeks of age was increased by maize supplementation (0.57 kg vs. 0.44 kg calf-1 day-1). No response to protein supplementation was measured. Incidence of scouring was higher in bucket reared calves (P < 0.01 ). The relevance of these results to the local dairy industry is discussed.