Jersey calf performance in response to high-protein, high-fat liquid feeds with varied fatty acid profiles: intake and performance.

The objective of this study was to determine whether altering the fatty acid (FA) profile of milk replacer (MR) with coconut oil, which contains a high concentration of medium-chain FA, to more closely match the FA profile typically found in whole milk from Jersey cows, would improve Jersey calf performance. Male (n=18) and female (n=32) Jersey calves were assigned at birth to 1 of 4 liquid diets: (1) pasteurized Jersey saleable whole milk [pSWM; 27.9% crude protein (CP) and 33.5% fat]; (2) 29.3% CP and 29.1% fat MR, containing 100% of fat as edible lard (100:00); (3) 28.2% CP and 28.0% fat MR, containing 80% of fat as lard and 20% as coconut oil (80:20); and (4) 28.2% CP and 28.3% fat MR, containing 60% of the fat as lard and 40% as coconut oil (60:40). Calves were fed their respective liquid diet twice daily during wk 1 through 7 and once daily until weaning (approximately wk 8). Calves had ad libitum access to grain and water, and calves were monitored 1 wk postweaning. Average daily gain and body weight did not differ by treatment. Calves fed pSWM tended to have greater hip height (HH) than calves fed 80:20 (80.5 vs. 79.7 cm). Coconut oil tended to have a quadratic effect on HH, with calves fed 100:00, 80:20, and 60:40 at 79.2, 79.7, and 78.5 cm, respectively. No difference was observed in withers height between pSWM and 80:20. Coconut oil had a quadratic effect on withers height, with calves fed 100:00, 80:20, and 60:40 at 76.6, 77.5, and 76.5 cm, respectively. Change in HH from birth to 9 wk tended to be greater for calves fed pSWM than calves fed 80:20 (0.218 vs. 0.194 cm/d). Calves fed pSWM had higher milk dry matter intake (DMI) than calves fed 80:20 (0.580 vs. 0.518 kg/d). No effect of coconut oil was observed on milk DMI. Grain DMI and total DMI did not differ among treatments. Calves fed pSWM had an increase in days with a fecal score >2 compared with calves fed 80:20 (4.24 vs. 2.00 d). Coconut oil had a quadratic effect on fecal score, with calves fed 100:00, 80:20, and 60:40 scoring 4.00, 2.00, and 3.63 d, respectively. Respiratory score did not differ among treatments. In conclusion, DMI and average daily gain were similar among treatments. However, differences among treatments in skeletal growth and fecal scores are indicative of some possible benefits of medium-chain FA on calf health and performance.