Received: April 15th, 2022 ; Accepted: May 12th, 2022 ; Published: May 27th, 2022 ; Correspondence: [email protected] milk acidifier obtained from whey permeate fermenting it with dairy propionic acid
bacteria was tested in this study to evaluate the effects of milk acidification on the health and
growth performance of pre-weaned dairy calves. The study consisted of 30 neonatal Holstein
female calves, allocated to three treatments fed unacidified (Control group) or acidified (EG-1
and EG-2 groups) pasteurised milk during the 7–75 day age. Control and EG-1 were fed milk by
divided method three times daily till one month of age, then twice daily until weaning; EG-2 was
basically fed by the undivided method - one week three times daily (7–14 day age), then once
daily. Results demonstrate that animal general health status and faecal scores (FS) were good and
the tested acidifier can be used for pre-weaned calf milk acidification. Biochemical and
haematological indices of blood at the 30 and 60 day age were within normal reference values
with both - divided and undivided - milk feeding methods. Mean live weight (LW; 106.6 ± 9.40
kg on average) and live weight gain (LWG; 911.33 ± 109.04 g day-1 on average) at weaning did
not differ between treatments (P > 0.05). Lower intake of starter feed associated with a larger
amount of milk consumed was observed in EG-2 animals (P < 0.05). As the results observed
regarding growth performance and health indices of all dietary treatment groups of calves were
similar, we could anticipate that the acidification benefits would be greater when providing
unpasteurised milk, or during the hottest weather when the risks of milk spoilage are greater
