Review: The paradigm shift in calf nutrition: Redefining energy and protein nutrition in the dairy calf
Abstract
Calf nutrition research has undergone a paradigm shift over the past two decades, moving from practices focused on cost efficiency and early weaning toward a deeper appreciation of the long-term biological and economic value of early-life feeding. This review synthesizes advances in energy and protein nutrition of dairy calves, with particular attention to how milk allowance, liquid feed composition, weaning strategies, and postweaning diets shape growth, health, and lifetime productivity. Evidence consistently demonstrates that higher planes of whole milk or milk replacer feeding improve growth, welfare, and gastrointestinal development. However, milk replacer formulations often diverge from whole milk in fat, protein, and carbohydrate profiles, raising concerns about metabolic imbalances and morbidity risk. In this review, we highlight how macronutrient quality, fat composition and structure, and protein quality and composition can influence digestion, metabolism, and health. Weaning outcomes are shown to depend not only on the timing and amount of milk but also on the quality and formulation of the entire diet (including starter feed) across preweaning, weaning, and postweaning phases. Starter feed composition, including starch source, effective fiber, protein-to-energy balance, and rumen undegradable protein fraction, plays a central role in sustaining growth and ensuring a smooth transition. Postweaning and peri-pubertal nutrition influence mammary gland development,…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Chaos and quantum thermalization
- The Dalton quantum chemistry program system
- Cord Blood Leptin and Adiponectin as Predictors of Adiposity in Children at 3 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study
- Quantitative metabolomics by H-NMR and LC-MS/MS confirms altered metabolic pathways in diabetes
- Stable adiabatic quantum batteries
- A novel self-lipid antigen targets human T cells against CD1c(+) leukemias
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.