The effect of cation-anion difference on calcium requirement, feed intake,body weight gain, and blood gasses and mineral concentrations of dairy calves
Ja. Jackson et al., The effect of cation-anion difference on calcium requirement, feed intake,body weight gain, and blood gasses and mineral concentrations of dairy calves, J DAIRY SCI, 84(1), 2001, pp. 147-153
Our objective was to examine the effects of two diets with different cation
-anion differences on Ca requirements in the growing calf. Holstein calves
(n = 48, 24 males) were blocked at 56 to 70 d after birth (80 +/- 10 kg of
body weight) according to sex and birth date and assigned randomly in a 2 x
3 factorial arrangement of dietary treatments containing cation-anion diff
erences as meg (Na + K) - (Cl + S)/kg of diet dry matter and Ca content of
1) 0 and 0.35%, 2) 0 and 0.50%, 3) 0 and 0.65%, 4) 200 and 0.35%, 5) 200 an
d 0.50%, and 6) 200 and 0.65%. Feed intake and average daily gain did not d
iffer among treatment groups. Plasma pH and Ca were unaffected by dietary C
a content or dietary cation-anion difference. Plasma Cl and P decreased lin
early with increasing Ca content in the diet. Plasma HCO3 increased linearl
y with increased dietary Ca content. Plasma HCO3 and partial pressure of CO
2 were higher in calves fed the 200 compared with calves fed the 0 cation-a
nion difference diets. Plasma Cl was, however, lower in calves fed the 200
compared with calves fed the 0 meg diets. An interaction of Ca content and
dietary cation-anion difference was detected for plasma P content. Urinary
pH increased linearly with increasing dietary Ca content. Calves fed the 20
0 meg dietary cation-anion difference had higher urinary pH values than tho
se fed the 0 meg diet. Urinary P excretion was not altered by dietary catio
n-anion difference or Ca content of the diet. Calves fed the 0 meg diet had
higher urinary cocnentrations of Ca and Cl when compared with those fed th
e 200 meg diet. Bone ash, P, Ca, Mg, and K content of the 10th rib were not
affected by dietary treatments. Breaking strength of the seventh and ninth
ribs increased quadratically with increasing dietary Ca content. Dietary c
ation-anion difference had no effect on the breaking strength of the sevent
h and ninth ribs. Varying the dietary cation-anion difference from 0 to 200
meq/kg of dietary dry matter had no effect on Ca requirement of the growin
g calf.