why use milk replacer

from 1to 15 days The consumption of milk causes a reflex closure of the esophageal groove . temperature 40 c at the beginning , only the rennet bag is functional. growth is due to the only intake in solids contained in the milk. whole mlk or milk replacers with skim milk powder will form curds in the rennet bag .digestion time will be around 6 hours. whey based feeds will not stop much or will not stop i the rennet bag and will be digested in the intestinal tract .digestion time is around 2 hours .

second week starts functioning from the consumption of first solid feed . its development will be all faster since the animal early eats concentrates and fodders .water consumption will act on the development of microorganisms of the rumen that converts solid feed. the growth objective of +900g per may be reached thanks to milky feed and solid feeds. from the 8th week , it is advisable to reduce the milky feed in order to increase the consumption of concentrates and straw . the increase of appetite is mainly due to the growth of the rumen. always prepare the calf to weaning enhancing the consumption of solid feeds in order to obtain a sustained growth of around +900 g day .it is necessary to aim ar 200kg at the age of 6 months for ideal calving age. there are many heifer that do not reach this aim. any delay i growth during the first 6 month of life of the animal will never compensated.
Consequences:
1. Loss of income for the breeder
2. Lower size hence a lower weight at the time of culling
3. Lower performance during the first lactation
4. Shorter lifetime
5. Lower ingestion capacity therefore less metabolic disorders

Newborn calf : milk goes directly to the abomasum thanks to the closing of the oesophageal groove. pre-stomachs (Rumen , reticulum and omasum) are not functional