POSSIBILITIES OF ELABORATION OF AN INITIAL FEEDING SUPPLEMENT WITH HOME RAW-MATERIALS

A study with 12 Holstein calves of both sexes with approximately 35 kg initial live weight and 7 to 10 days of age was carried out. The anim als were placed in individual cages till weaning (70 days) according t o a completely randomized design to compare treatment A composed of a home feeding supplement (SI-2) with treatment B, a supplement containi ng imported sources (SM). 200 and 400 g/day from 21 to 30 days and fro m 31 to 70 days, respectively of both supplements were offered. Differ ences between treatments (P < 0.05) were found for weight gain 0 to 70 days (472 and 348.3 g/day) in treatments A and B, respectively. The h ighest incidence of diseases was found in treatment B with 4 calves wi th diarrhea. Treatment A was less expensive than treatment B. The poss ibility of elaborating an initial feed supplement with a high proporti on of home components was demonstrated.