Productive response of supplemented calves with starter feed plus yeast culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
Published 2018-04-13
Keywords
- Becerros lactantes,
- alimento iniciador,
- cultivo de levaduras,
- destete,
- comportamiento productivo.
- Lactating calves,
- starter,
- yeast culture,
- weaning,
- animal performance.
How to Cite
Abstract
The objective of the study was to evaluate the productive response of lactating calves fed with initiator with added Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast culture (YC). Ten male and six female calves, aged between five and 27 days, were randomly assigned to two treatments: T1) starter feed and T2) starter feed plus YC used in a completely randomized experimental design with eight replicates per treatment. They were under continuous grazing on Estrella (Cynodon plectostachyus) and Guinea (Megathyrzus maximum) grass pastures, plus starter on free access. From day 135 onwards, two kg of growth feed per calf were supplied. The variables evaluated were daily weight gain (DWG), live weight change (LWC), starter feed intake (SI) and feed conversion (FC). There were no differences in the variables evaluated (p> 0.05) in both treatments. The results indicate that the productive response in lactating calves is similar to that of calves including yeast culture in their diet.