Milk replacers with high ash and macromineral contents - resulting in loose feces of young calves?

In 3 feeding experiments with 23 calves (age: 5-18 days at trials' start) t he effects of high ash and mineral contents in the diet on feces compositio n (dry matter, pH, concentrations of lactic and volatile fatty acids, miner al contents) and digestibility rates of organic matter, nutrients and miner als as well as on some parenteral parameters (electrolytes in serum, renal excretion) were tested. In all feeding experiments a change-over-design was used, during 10 days each of all calves was fed the control and experiment al diet, respectively. In the first trial (8 calves) high ash and mineral c ontents in the milk replacer were caused by use of a special whey product ( 25 % in the diet), in the second experiment (n = 7) comparable ash and macr omineral concentrations were achieved by adding minerals to the basic diet, in the third trial (n = 8) the whey product was used in a lower proportion (15 % of the diet). Ash concentrations in diet (g/kg dry matter): 68 versu s 138 (trial 1), 75 versus 135 (trial 2), 75 versus 93 (trial 3). The diffe rences in the ash contents were based mainly on differences in the sodium a nd potassium concentrations.