Effect of mineral-vitamin supplementation to milk on growth, health, hematological and biochemical values in Holstein calves

Abstract

The aim of this study was to research the effect of mineral-vitamin supplementation to milk on growth, hematological, biochemical and health in Holstein calves. An average 7-day-old twenty-two Holstein calves were housed in individual boxes. Calves were separated into 2 groups (n=11), first group was fed with whole milk; while the second group was fed with mineral-vitamin (MV) supplemented milk. Calves were weaned at 8 weeks of age. After weaning period, calves which were fed MV supplemented milk had significantly higher body weight than those which were fed with whole milk. The effect of MV supplemented milk on body measurements (BMs) was not statistically significant except for Chest girth (CG). MV supplemented milk reduced the incidence of diarrhea and the average number of diarrheic days. MV supplementation had no significant effect on blood parameters analyzed except for Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and serum Glucose (GLU).