title: Effects of supplementation with cellooligosaccharides on growth performance of weaned calves on pasture.
abstract: We conducted two feeding experiments to evaluate the effects of cellooligosaccharide (CE) supplementation on growth performance in grazing beef calves. Calf sex and age and duration of the experimental period differed between the experiments. Experiment 1 (10 weeks) used 5.6-month-old castrated males; Experiment 2 (13 weeks) used 3.9-month-old females. Eight Japanese Black calves were assigned to either a control group (CON) or an experimental group (CE) fed CE at a rate of 10 g/day mixed with concentrate. Calves were stocked in fields in which Kentucky bluegrass was dominant. In both experiments, average daily gain tended to be greater in CE than in CON, especially in late stages of experiments, but no significant differences in body weight changes were observed. In Experiment 2, final heart girth was larger in CE than in CON calves. We monitored rumen microbial community composition in Experiment 2 and found increases in fibrolytic bacteria and methanogenic archaea in CE calves, but the overall microbial composition did not differ between the groups. Our results suggest that supplementation with CE may positively affect growth performance in weaned calves on pasture, but longer-term CE supplementation may be required to exhibit the effect.
authors: NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Nagano, Japan.
authors: Kyoko
authors: K
authors: Kido
authors: NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Nagano, Japan.
authors: Shigeki
authors: S
authors: Tejima
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan.
authors: Haruka
authors: H
authors: Nagayama
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan.
authors: Yutaka
authors: Y
authors: Uyeno
authors: NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Nasushiobara, Japan.
authors: Yasuyuki
authors: Y
authors: Ide
authors: NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors: Shiro
authors: S
authors: Kushibiki
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D060434:Herbivory / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012417:Rumen / Q000382:microbiology; D014886:Weaning
chemical_list: D009844:Oligosaccharides
keywords: cellooligosaccharides; rumen microbial community; stocker calves