SUMMIT METABOLISM OF NEWBORN CALVES WITH AND WITHOUT COLOSTRUM FEEDING

Abstract

Resting and summit metabolic rates were measured in 13 newborn (2.5–15 h old) male Holstein calves exposed to warm and cold tempertures in a water immersion system. Six calves were bottle fed 1 kg of colostrum 30 min before the measurements commenced. In the remaining seven calves, colostrum was withheld until after the end of the measurement period. There were no significant effects of colostrum feeding on resting or summit metabolic rates or the time required for rectal temperature to drop to 35 °C when the calves were immersed in cold water. The time required for rectal temperature to drop to 35 °C increased as the body weight of the calves increased; for each kilogram additional body weight, cooling was delayed for an extra 2.9 min. The resting metabolic rate averaged for both feeding treatments was 2.0 ± 0.1 W kg−1 while mean rectal temperature was 39.1 ± 0.2 °C. Mean summit metabolic rate was 7.2 ± 0.4 W kg−1 and occurred at a mean rectal temperature of 35.4 ± 0.3 °C. The average ratio of the summit to resting metabolic rate was 3.7 ± 0.2. Cooling via water immersion was associated with increases in plasma levels of glucose and free fatty acids. The feeding of 1 kg of colostrum 30 min prior to exposure to acute cold did not improve the apparent resistance of the calves to hypothermia. Key words: Newborn calf, summit metabolism, cold tolerance