The successful path for ruminants

From the very first few weeks of life, a high intake of supplementary feed should be encouraged to support the development of the rumen. Applying a feed concentrate stimulates the growth of villi in the rumen of young calves by forming butyrate and propionate. Even in the first two to three weeks of life, calves enjoy eating tasty, highly digestible calf starter feed mixes such as KALBI FLOCS PLUS.

Observing the basic rules of rumen health

Despite the positive effect of feed concentrate on the development of villi, the basic rules of rumen health must also be observed in calves. Many conventional feed brands provide calves with a separate basic ration and feed concentrate, which leads to variable intake. By blending high-quality feed concentrate components with structural components in KALBI TMR ALFA PLUS, calves are no longer able to feed selectively. This high-quality dry TMR supports the development of the rumen and boosts feed intake (see Fig. 1).

Basic rules for weaning calves

From the second week of life, KALBI FLOCS PLUS can already be blended with KALBI TMR ALFA PLUS. Then from the 3rd week, KALBI TMR ALFA PLUS can be fed as a single supplementary feed. The aim should be for each calf to be eating at least 1 kg of solid feed per day at the start of weaning. Studies show that calves reach the goal of 1 kg approximately three weeks sooner when they are fed a dry TMR such as KALBI TMR ALFA PLUS compared to conventional feeding using feed concentrate and silage (see Fig. 2). Using a combination of high-quality KALBI Milch milk replacer and KALBI TMR ALFA PLUS enables the average liquid feeding duration to be shortened and rearing costs to be reduced.