The type of lipid supplement has crucial implications for forage particle size in calf starter diets

Table 1 Experimental starter feed ingredients and chemical composition

Item	Treatments¹
	SP		LP
	SBO	PLF	SBO	PLF
Ingredients, g/kg of DM
Alfalfa hay (chopped, GMPL²: 1.26 mm)	100	100	0	0
Alfalfa hay (chopped, GMPL: 4.97 mm)	0	0	100	100
Barley grain, ground	140	140	140	140
Corn grain (coarsely ground)	420	420	420	420
Soybean meal	270	270	270	270
Soybean oil	25	0	25	0
Palm fatty acids	0	25	0	25
Calcium carbonate	8	8	8	8
Sodium bicarbonate	7	7	7	7
Di-calcium phosphate	6	6	6	6
Salt	4	4	4	4
Vitamin and mineral mix³	20	20	20	20
Chemical composition, g/kg of DM, unless stated otherwise
Metabolizable energy⁴, Mcal/kg	2.94	2.94	2.94	2.94
CP	208	208	208	208
NDF	184	184	184	184
Ether extract (EE)	56.3	56.3	56.3	56.3
Non-fiber carbohydrate⁵	501	501	501	501
Ca	84	84	84	84
P	45	45	45	45

¹Treatments: alfalfa hay provided as small particle size supplemented with soybean oil (SP-SBO); alfalfa hay provided as small particle size supplemented with palm fatty acids (SP-PLF); alfalfa hay provided as long particle size supplemented with soybean oil (LP-SBO); alfalfa hay provided as long particle size supplemented with palm fatty acids (LP-PLF)
²GMPL: Geometric mean of particle size
³Containing per kg: Vit A (IU) = 1,000,000, Vit D (IU) = 110,000, Vit E (IU) = 1,100 Ca (g) = 90, P (g) = 25, Mg (g) = 30, Zn (mg) = 1,700, Cu (mg) = 540, I (mg) = 110, Co (mg) = 80, Mn (mg) = 1,900, Se (mg) = 140
⁴Calculated according to NRC (2001) [9]
⁵Non-fibre carbohydrate was calculated as DM − (NDF + CP + EE + ash) (NRC, 2001) [9]

ISSN: 2049-1891