The relationship between appetite and plasma non-esterified fatty acid levels in housed calves

✍ Scribed by M. T. Fox; D. Gerrelli; S. R. Pitt; D. E. Jacobs

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 414 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0165-7380
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00405144

✦ Synopsis

Non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels in housed, 3-month-old calves were monitored in two experiments designed to establish (i) the effect of diet and time of sampling in relation to feeding on blood levels; and (ii) the relationship between appetite and plasma NEFA in animals on chopped hay. In the first experiment, a significant drop in NEFA levels was recorded after feeding. Furthermore, the NEFA levels of calves maintained on concentrate were significantly lower than those on hay throughout the post-feeding period. In the second study, a significant negative correlation was established between NEFA levels and intake of chopped hay in (i) ad-lib-fed calves infected with the abomasal nematode Ostertagia ostertagi; (ii) worm-free animals pair-fed with those in group (i); and (iii) ad-lib-fed worm-free calves. Regression analysis of raw and transformed data from all three groups combined also yielded significant correlations. It is suggested that the measurement of blood NEFA may be a useful indirect indicator of feed intake in conditioned housed calves offered hay diets.