The Effects of a Medical Plant Mixture and a Probiotic on Performance, Antioxidant Activity and Weaning Age of Newborn Holstein Calves

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a medical plant mixture and a probiotic on performance, antioxidant activity and weaning age of suckling Holstein calves. For this experiment, 30 newborn calves (0-10 days of age) with an average birth weight of 42 ± 8 kg were used in a factorial design (3×2) with 6 treatments and 5 replicates. Treatments were: 1) basal diet including a calves starter feed and whole milk, 2) control diet + 2 g probiotic 3) control diet + 1.5% of medical plant, 4) control diet + 1.5% medical plant + 2 g probiotic, 5) control diet + 3% medical plant and 6) control diet + 3% medical plant + 2 g probiotic. The calves were offered experimental pelleted feeds ad libitum and after one month were supplied with imported hay. Results showed that the treatments had no significant effect on dry matter intake during the experiment. However, addition of the 1.5% medical plant increased dry matter intake (P