Efecto del consumo de dieta líquida y alimento balanceado sobre el crecimiento y desarrollo ruminal en terneras de lechería

the objective of this study was to determine the effect of liquid and solid diet intake on growth and rumen development of dairy calves. the experiment was conducted in a commercial dairy farm located at 2500 m.a.s.l in the province of cartago, costa rica. ten holstein calves were selected at birth and randomly included in 1 of 2 treatments. the conventional treatment consisted in providing calves a liquid diet on a restricted basis (4 l.calf-1.d-1). the intensive treatment consisted in supplying calves the same liquid diet in larger quantities, up to 8 l.calf-1.d-1. growth measurements including body weight, hip height and withers height were taken weekly. calves were sacrificed at 8 weeks of age, in order to compare rumen growth and development. animals in the intensive treatment had a significantly higher liquid diet intake and lower feed intake than calves in the conventional treatment. growth measurements showed no significant differences between treatment groups. calves in the intensive treatment had a poor rumen development and lesser papillae growth, which may negatively affect calves’ post-weaning performance.