Effects of feeding management on endocrine responses of dairy calves

It is essential that calves are provided proper nutrition early on in life as they are the future of the milking herd. In addition to milk, many producers opt to provide solid feed, such as grain and forage, to young calves to foster gastrointestinal tract development. Solid feed can be provided as: 1) grain and forage as separate components, or 2) grain and forage mixed together. Previous research has investigated how feed presentation influences calf feed and nutrient intake, and average daily gain. However, there is a knowledge gap as little research has looked at the impact of feed presentation on gut peptides. Gut peptides such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin, and glucagon-like peptides (GLP-1 and GLP-2) each play a role in calf development and health. Therefore, the present study will investigate how feed presentation affects the plasma concentration of gut peptides. We aim to improve the understanding of calf development relating to gut peptides, and how feed presentation influences this process. Furthermore, the knowledge obtained from this study can be applied to improving feeding practices in the dairy industry to better calf development and health.

Faculty Supervisor:

Masahito Oba

Student:

Partner:

Hiroshima University

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Agriculture and Food; Life Sciences (not health)

University:

University of Alberta

Program: