Early social housing is known to benefit cognitive development in laboratory animals. Pre-weaned dairy calves are typically separated from their dam immediately after birth and housed alone, but no work to date has addressed the effect of individual housing on cognitive performance of these animals. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of individual versus social housing on two me...

Thirty neonatal male Holstein calves fed by starter diets containing ground wheat (GW) or dry-rolled wheat (DRW) to 12 weeks of age. Skeletal growth measures, starter digestibility, starter intake, blood metabolites and rumen metabolites of nursing calves were assessed in weeks 4, 8 and 12 to assess rumen development and find the optimum method of wheat processing for calves. Calves were weaned...

Albendazole (methyl 5-propylthio-1 H-benzimidazol-2-yl carbamate) was used as an anthelmintic in a 3-yr study involving 578 beef cows and 438 nursing calves. Infection levels for nematodes, coccidia, and tapeworm were relatively low throughout the 3-yr period. Eggs per gram of feces in cows and calves were lower (P less than .01) 2 wk posttreatment but were not different 5 mo later, when calves...

Using stomach contents from 203 spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) killed in the yellowfin tuna fishery, we modeled the weaning process of calves. Spotted dolphins began to take solid food at approximately 6 mo of age, or 115 cm, but continued to suckle until they were nearly 2 yr old. Calves tended to feed more frequently on squid as they got older, which suggested there was a shift in diet...

Angus x Hereford multiparous cows were assigned to four treatments: 1) mastectomized+calf weaned at birth (MCW; n = 7); 2) mastectomized+calf presence restricted to noninguinal contact (MCR; n = 7); 3) mastectomized+unrestricted calf presence (MCP; n = 7); and 4) udder-intact cows+unrestricted calf presence (UICP; n = 8). Except for MCW cows, cow-calf pairs were penned together individually fro...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the response of weaned calves to different feed additives within a preconditioning supplement. Specifically, alternatives to antibiotics and ionophores were evaluated to determine their effectiveness in improving calf performance and mitigating the stress response observed during the weaning process. Following stratification by bodyweight, sex, previo...

To determine the prevalence of Giardia duodenalis in weaned beef calves on cow-calf operations in the United States, fecal specimens were collected from 819 calves (6-18 months of age) from 49 operations. After cleaning and concentration procedures to maximize recovery of cysts from feces, DNA was extracted from each of the 819 specimens. The presence of G. duodenalis was determined by nested P...

Holstein bull calves (n = 51) weaned at 6 wk of age were used in four N balance trials for 4 wk (Trials 1 to 3) or for 2 wk (Trial 4) from 8 wk of age to identify limiting amino acids for a corn and soybean meal diet. The calves were trained to maintain reflex closure of the reticular groove throughout the trials. In Trial 1, administration of .111 g of DL-methionine plus .333 g of L-lysine mon...

The chemical and nutritional composition of the Longissimus thoracis muscle from 58 'Rubia Gallega' breed animals was measured to differentiate veal of weaned from unweaned calves. Fat, protein, ash, and moisture contents of muscle were determined by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) and the fatty acid (FA) profiles were determined by gas chromatography. Calves suckled their mothers...

Dairy calves are extremely susceptible to gastro-intestinal disease during the pre-weaned period. The risk for enteric disease decreases as the calf ages; therefore, it is important to break the pre-weaned period up into at least 2 distinct phases that likely need to be managed differently, early life (1st and maybe the 2nd week of life) and the remaining time the calf is fed fluid. When a calf...