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Health, Behavior, and Well-being Review Symposium Review|Articles in Press

Impacts of dairy cow nutrition precalving on calf health*

Open AccessPublished:February 23, 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2022-0281

      Highlights

      • Once dietary energy, protein, and micronutrient requirements are met, prepartum BCS and feeding of the dairy cow have a limited impact on colostrogenesis.
      • Maternal nutrition that leads to fetal oversize, bradytocia, dystocia, micronutrient imbalance, or hypothermia increases the risk of perinatal calf mortality.
      • Inadequate maternal dietary energy, protein, and micronutrient status can affect young calf immunity and health.

      Abstract

      This mini-review focuses on the effects of gestational dairy cow nutrition on calf health as mediated through colostrogenesis and calf immunity, morbidity, and mortality. The nutritional adequacy of the forage and supplementary diet and the metabolic status and body condition score of the dam can affect calf health. The mechanism of action of such impacts include maternal nutritional imbalances or deficiencies causing dyscolostrogenesis, nutritionally mediated calf ill health, and fetal programming impacts on calf health.

      Graphical Abstract

      Figure thumbnail fx1
      Graphical AbstractSummary: The transgenerational metabolic-disease complex is shown. DMI = dry matter intake; BCS = body condition score; EFG = excessive fetal growth; FGR = fetal growth restriction; FPT = failure of passive transfer of immunoglobulin (Ig); MN = macro/micronutrient, ill thrift = slower growth rate than expected given feed allocation; birth wt. = birth weight. The arrows imply “associated with” and the text uses key words to highlight components of the complex.
      The impacts of maternal nutrition on calf health are mediated indirectly through effects on colostrum and fetal programming, and also directly through perinatal vigor, neonatal immunity, and ultimately health. The concept of the nutritional and metabolic status of one generation affecting the health and disease status of the subsequent generation may be described as the trans-/multi-generational metabolic-disease complex (
      • Mee J.F.
      Impacts of nutrition pre-calving on periparturient dairy cow health and neonatal calf health.
      ). Producers may be “blind” to these occult interactions (
      • Mee J.F.
      Invited Review: Denormalizing poor dairy youngstock management – Dealing with ‘farm-blindness.’.
      ).
      Only limited data are available on the effects of maternal precalving BCS or BCS change on colostrogenesis. There was no difference in colostrum immunoglobulin (Ig) content between dairy cows in high or low BCS precalving in one study (
      • Bland I.
      • Lang P.
      • Hill J.
      The consequences of offering diets high in rumen undegradable protein during the dry period on immunoglobulin G concentrations in serum of neonates, mature dairy cows and colostrum.
      ) but in another study dairy cows in higher BCS had higher colostrum Ig content (
      • Smith C.
      • Stockdale C.
      Effect of energy and protein nutrition in late gestation on immunoglobulin G in the colostrum of dairy cows with varying body condition scores.
      ), and paradoxically, calves from thin dairy cows (BCS <3 on a 5-point scale) tended to have higher serum Ig values in another study (
      • Immler M.
      • Büttner K.
      • Gärtner T.
      • Wehrend A.
      • Donat K.
      Maternal impact on serum immunoglobulin and total protein concentration in dairy calves.
      ). Regarding BCS change,
      • Shearer J.
      • Mohammed H.
      • Brenneman J.
      • Tran T.
      Factors associated with concentrations of immunoglobulins in colostrum at the first milking post-calving.
      showed that when dairy cow BCS increased between dry off and calving (compared with remaining stable or decreasing), colostrum Ig content was higher. However,
      • Mann S.
      • Leal Yepes F.
      • Overton T.
      • Lock A.
      • Lamb S.
      • Wakshlag J.
      • Nydam D.
      Effect of dry period dietary energy level in dairy cattle on volume, concentrations of immunoglobulin G, and fatty acid composition of colostrum.
      found that dry dairy cows that gained the most BCS (0.27 units) and BW (90.4 kg) precalving had the lowest colostral Ig content (72.4 g/L), with no effect on colostrum yield (7.0 kg). Conversely, dairy cows that lost BW (>20 kg) during the dry period were 4 times more likely to have colostrum with lower IgG concentrations (
      • Mulder R.
      • Fosgate G.
      • Tshuma T.
      • Lourens D.
      The effect of cow-level factors on colostrum quality, passive immunity and health of neonatal calves in a pasture-based dairy operation.
      ).
      Only a limited number of studies are available on the effects of precalving feeding of dairy cows on colostrum quantity and quality; most studies are in beef cows on severe energy or protein restriction, which may not be applicable to dairy cows. In general, the ability to significantly alter colostrum yield or quality by dietary means is limited once the metabolizable energy and protein requirement of the cow are met but not unmet or exceeded (the “Goldilocks principle”). In agreement,
      • Dunn A.
      • Ashfield A.
      • Earley B.
      • Welsh M.
      • Gordon A.
      • McGee M.
      • Morrison S.
      Effect of concentrate supplementation during the dry period on colostrum quality and effects of colostrum feeding regimen on passive transfer of immunity, calf health, and performance.
      found no relationship between dry dairy cow nutrition (on grass-silage-based diets) and colostral Ig concentration. However, a possible benefit of a pasture-based diet on colostrum quality was reported by
      • Gulliksen S.M.
      • Lie K.I.
      • Sølverød L.
      • Østerås O.
      Risk factors associated with colostrum quality in Norwegian dairy cows.
      who found that dairy cows calving during the months following the pasture season had higher quality colostrum (as assessed by single radial immunodiffusion) than cows calving during other seasons.
      Recently,
      • Mann S.
      • Leal Yepes F.
      • Overton T.
      • Lock A.
      • Lamb S.
      • Wakshlag J.
      • Nydam D.
      Effect of dry period dietary energy level in dairy cattle on volume, concentrations of immunoglobulin G, and fatty acid composition of colostrum.
      showed that feeding dairy cows a diet that meets their energy and protein requirements during the dry period increased colostrum IgG content compared with cows fed 150% of energy requirements, with no differences in colostrum yield. In contrast, a study in dairy cattle on a grass-silage diet found increased colostrum yield in cows supplemented with concentrates compared with those fed grass-silage alone (
      • Dunn A.
      • Ashfield A.
      • Earley B.
      • Welsh M.
      • Gordon A.
      • McGee M.
      • Morrison S.
      Effect of concentrate supplementation during the dry period on colostrum quality and effects of colostrum feeding regimen on passive transfer of immunity, calf health, and performance.
      ). However, a negative correlation was found between amount of concentrates fed to dairy cows precalving and colostrum IgG content by
      • Gulliksen S.M.
      • Lie K.I.
      • Sølverød L.
      • Østerås O.
      Risk factors associated with colostrum quality in Norwegian dairy cows.
      attributed to a possible dilution effect with increased colostrum yield. Earlier studies by
      • Smith C.
      • Stockdale C.
      Effect of energy and protein nutrition in late gestation on immunoglobulin G in the colostrum of dairy cows with varying body condition scores.
      found a similar effect with increasing energy intake/plane of nutrition during gestation. Previous studies had shown no effect of altering dietary energy content or restricting DMI during the dry period (
      • Nowak W.
      • Mikula R.
      • Zachwieja A.
      • Paczynska K.
      • Pecka E.
      • Drzazga K.
      • Slosarz P.
      The impact of cow nutrition in the dry period on colostrum quality and immune status of calves.
      ) on colostrum or dairy calf serum IgG, IgA, or IgM (d 3 and 21).
      Numerous dairy cow studies (
      • Santos J.E.
      • DePeters E.
      • Jardon P.
      • Huber J.
      Effect of prepartum dietary protein level on performance of primigravid and multiparous Holstein dairy cows.
      ;
      • Bland I.
      • Lang P.
      • Hill J.
      The consequences of offering diets high in rumen undegradable protein during the dry period on immunoglobulin G concentrations in serum of neonates, mature dairy cows and colostrum.
      ;
      • Toghyani E.
      • Moharrery A.
      Effect of various levels of dietary protein in transition period on colostrum quality and serum Ig concentration in Holstein cows and their newborn calves.
      ) found no effect of diet CP content on colostrum volume, IgG content, or calf IgG. However,
      • Smith C.
      • Stockdale C.
      Effect of energy and protein nutrition in late gestation on immunoglobulin G in the colostrum of dairy cows with varying body condition scores.
      found that increasing dietary CP content increased colostrum IgG content. But,
      • Van Hese I.
      • Goossens K.
      • Vandaele L.
      • Opsomer G.
      Can we alter the microbial composition of bovine colostrum through the dry period ration?.
      reported that calves receiving colostrum from high CP-fed dairy cows had significantly lower serum IgG concentrations than those from cow fed a low CP-fed diet, whereas
      • Toghyani E.
      • Moharrery A.
      Effect of various levels of dietary protein in transition period on colostrum quality and serum Ig concentration in Holstein cows and their newborn calves.
      found the opposite. A recent study feeding ruminally protected AA to dairy cows (from 21 d before expected calving date) showed that protected lysine and methionine diets increased colostrum total protein content (Brix units) and calf serum total protein and IgG (0–7 d) and ADG (up to weaning at 60 d;
      • Wang H.
      • Elsaadawy S.A.
      • Wu Z.
      • Bu D.P.
      Maternal supply of ruminally-protected lysine and methionine during close-up period enhances immunity and growth rate of neonatal calves.
      ). Feeding mannan oligosaccharide prepartum to dairy cows (for a minimum of 4 wk precalving) has been shown to increase colostrum yield, but not IgG content with no significant effects on calf ADG or health (up to weaning at 8 wk;
      • Westland A.
      • Martin R.
      • White R.
      • Martin J.
      Mannan oligosaccharide prepartum supplementation: Effects on dairy cow colostrum quality and quantity.
      ). However, another study found that supplementing the diet of precalving dairy cows (for 3 wk precalving) with mannan oligosaccharides tended to improve calf colostrum-derived rotavirus antibody titers in response to maternal vaccination (
      • Franklin S.T.
      • Newman M.
      • Newman K.
      • Meek K.
      Immune parameters of dry cows fed mannan oligosaccharide and subsequent transfer of immunity to calves.
      ).
      Trace mineral supplementation has been shown to alter colostrum quality in dairy cows, but responses may be dependent upon both the individual trace minerals and their formulation. Selenium supplementation of the precalving dairy cow diet has been shown to increase (
      • Pavlata L.
      • Prasek J.
      • Filipek J.
      • Pechova A.
      Influence of parenteral administration of selenium and vitamin E during pregnancy on selected metabolic parameters and colostrum quality in dairy cows at parturition.
      ), decrease (
      • Leyan V.
      • Wittwer F.
      • Contreras P.
      • Kruze J.
      Serum colostrum immunoglobulin concentrations from selenium deficient cows and in the blood of their calves.
      ), or have no effect on (
      • Mohrekesh M.
      • Foroozandeh Shahraki A.
      • Ghalamkari G.
      • Guyot H.
      Effects of three methods of oral selenium-enriched yeast supplementation on blood components and growth in Holstein dairy calves.
      ) colostrum Ig. Chromium-methionine supplementation (during the dry period) of pregnant dairy cows did not alter either colostrum quantity or quality (
      • Gultepe E.E.
      • Uyarlar C.
      • Bayram I.
      Supplementation of Cr methionine during dry period of dairy cows and its effect on some production and biochemical parameters during early lactation and on immunity of their offspring.
      ). The formulation and dose rate of the mineral supplement may matter. Prenatal parenteral selenium administration to dairy cows has been shown to reduce offspring serum Ig content (
      • Leyan V.
      • Wittwer F.
      • Contreras P.
      • Kruze J.
      Serum colostrum immunoglobulin concentrations from selenium deficient cows and in the blood of their calves.
      ). Dairy cows supplemented with organic trace elements had significantly higher colostrum IgG content compared with cows supplemented with inorganic minerals in most (
      • Kincaid R.
      • Socha M.
      Inorganic versus complexed trace mineral supplements on performance of dairy cows.
      ;
      • Formigoni A.
      • Fustini M.
      • Archetti L.
      • Emanuele S.
      • Sniffen C.
      • Biagi G.
      Effects of an organic source of copper, manganese and zinc on dairy cattle productive performance, health status and fertility.
      ;
      • Roshanzamir H.
      • Rezaei J.
      • Fazaeli H.
      Colostrum and milk performance, and blood immunity indices and minerals of Holstein cows receiving organic Mn, Zn and Cu sources.
      ) but not all studies (
      • Juniper D.T.
      • Rymer C.
      • Briens M.
      Bioefficacy of hydroxy-selenomethionine as a selenium supplement in pregnant dairy heifers and on the selenium status of their calves.
      ). This suggests a role for trace elements in colostrogenesis, specifically synthesis of IgG.
      A recent study has shown that while feeding a low calcium diet precalving did not affect dairy cow colostrum quality, it tended to increase colostrum yield (
      • Rajaeerad A.
      • Ghorbani G.
      • Khorvash M.
      • Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi A.
      • Mahdavi A.
      • Rashidi S.
      • Wilkens M.
      • Hünerberg M.
      Impact of a ration negative in dietary cation–anion difference and varying calcium supply fed before calving on colostrum quality of the dams and health status and growth performance of the calves.
      ). There are conflicting results on the effects of feeding anionic diets to dairy cows precalving on calf acidosis, colostrum Ig absorption, and serum Ig concentration (
      • Quigley III, J.D.
      • Drewry J.
      Nutrient and immunity transfer from cow to calf pre- and postcalving.
      ). The most recent study by
      • Zimpel R.
      • Nehme Marinho M.
      • Almeida K.
      • Revilla Ruiz A.
      • Nelson C.
      • Thatcher W.
      • Santos J.
      Effects of maternal level of dietary cation-anion difference fed to prepartum nulliparous cows on offspring acid-base balance, metabolism, and growth.
      found no effect of maternal DCAD on colostral Ig content or apparent efficiency of absorption of Ig or performance of dairy calves.
      Perinatal calf mortality (PCM) may be defined as death before, during or within 2 d after calving at full term (>260 d;
      • Mee J.F.
      Epidemiology of bovine perinatal mortality.
      ). Excessive body condition (>3.5) in pregnant dairy heifers has been shown to be a significant risk factor for bradytocia (prolonged calving; >120 min;
      • Gundelach Y.
      • Essmeyer K.
      • Teltscher M.
      • Hoedemaker M.
      Risk factors for perinatal mortality in dairy cattle: Cow and fetal factors, calving process.
      ) and PCM (
      • Vernooy E.
      • Leslie K.
      • Kelton D.
      • Hand K.
      • Muir B.
      • Duffield T.
      Management risk factors associated with stillbirth.
      ). However, in an older study,
      • Drew B.
      Factors affecting calving rates and dystokia in Friesian dairy heifers, the results of a large scale field trial.
      found no difference in dairy heifer BCS at calving between herds with high and low rates of PCM and suggested that calving management factors were more important in the etiology of PCM. Recently, prepartum nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations (>416 µEq/L) were found in multiparous dairy cows that had stillbirths compared with cows with live calves (
      • Menichetti B.T.
      • Piñeiro J.
      • Barragan A.
      • Relling A.
      • Garcia-Guerra A.
      • Schuenemann G.
      Association of prepartum lying time with nonesterified fatty acids and stillbirth in prepartum dairy heifers and cows.
      ), which may reflect inadequate energy supply for contractile myo-proteins, leading to dystocia. In contrast, previous work had shown no relationships between prepartum multiple metabolic parameters, including NEFA, and stillbirth in dairy cows (
      • Szenci O.
      • Abdelmegeid M.K.
      • Solymosi N.
      • Brydl E.
      • Bajcsy C.
      • Biksi I.
      • Kulcsár M.
      Prediction of stillbirth in Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle by measuring metabolic and endocrine parameters during the peripartal period.
      ).
      Higher levels of concentrate ration feeding in the last month of pregnancy have been associated with increased risk of stillbirth in dairy cows (
      • Streit P.
      • Ernst E.
      Influences on peri- and postnatal calf losses with particular reference to husbandry conditions. 1. Influences on perinatal calf losses.
      ;
      • Benjaminsson B.H.
      Prenatal death in Icelandic cattle.
      ) through maternal over-condition and fetal oversize. However, feeding a low level of concentrate (1 kg/cow per d) for 1 mo before the expected calving date compared with no concentrate supplementation reduced the occurrence of stillbirth in dairy cows (
      • Logan E.F.
      • Smyth J.
      • Kennedy D.
      • Rice D.
      • Ellis W.
      Stillbirth and perinatal weak calf syndrome.
      ). Prepartum maternal dietary energy (
      • Gao F.
      • Liu Y.
      • Zhang Z.
      • Zhang C.
      • Su H.
      • Li S.
      Effect of prepartum maternal energy density on the growth performance, immunity, and antioxidation capability of neonatal calves.
      ) and protein (
      • Micke G.C.
      • Sullivan T.
      • Soares Magalhaes R.
      • Rolls P.
      • Norman S.
      • Perry V.
      Heifer nutrition during early- and mid-pregnancy alters fetal growth trajectory and birth weight.
      ) supplementation can increase calf birth weight and hence risk of relative fetal oversize. Relative fetal oversize is a significant risk factor for stillbirth (

      Kausch, M. 2009. Inzidenz und ursachen von totgeburten in einer milchviehanlage in Brandenburg bei optimiertem geburtsmanagement. Inaugural Dissertation, DVM, Tierarztliche Hochschule Hannover.

      ). Fetal undersize is also a risk factor for stillbirth (

      Kausch, M. 2009. Inzidenz und ursachen von totgeburten in einer milchviehanlage in Brandenburg bei optimiertem geburtsmanagement. Inaugural Dissertation, DVM, Tierarztliche Hochschule Hannover.

      ), possibly mediated through fetal growth restriction (FGR). Thermogenesis (and hence risk of perinatal mortality from hypothermia) of the perinatal beef calf can be reduced by low maternal prepartum dietary fat (1.7%;
      • Lammoglia M.A.
      • Bellows R.
      • Grings E.
      • Bergman J.
      • Short R.
      • MacNeil M.
      Effects of feeding beef females supplemental fat during gestation on cold tolerance in newborn calves.
      ) and protein content (55% of NRC recommendation;
      • Carstens G.E.
      • Johnson D.
      • Holland M.
      • Odde K.
      Effects of prepartum protein nutrition and birth weight on basal metabolism in bovine neonates.
      ).
      Prepartum maternal dietary micronutrient imbalances (e.g., iodine or selenium deficiencies) are risk factors for PCM (
      • Enjalbert F.
      • Lebreton P.
      • Salat O.
      Effects of copper, zinc, and selenium status on performance and health in commercial dairy and beef herds: Retrospective study.
      ). While lower concentrations of multiple trace elements have been found in aborted and stillborn dairy calves compared with abattoir-retrieved fetuses, the clinical significance of these findings is unclear (
      • Van Saun R.
      Mineral and vitamin deficiencies in aborted and stillborn calves.
      ). Supplementation with micronutrients can correct micronutrient imbalances and has reduced PCM in some (e.g.,
      • Formigoni A.
      • Fustini M.
      • Archetti L.
      • Emanuele S.
      • Sniffen C.
      • Biagi G.
      Effects of an organic source of copper, manganese and zinc on dairy cattle productive performance, health status and fertility.
      ; organic trace elements,
      • Pontes G.C.
      • Monteiro Jr., P.
      • Prata A.
      • Guardieiro M.
      • Pinto D.
      • Fernandes G.
      • Wiltbank M.
      • Santos J.
      • Sartori R.
      Effect of injectable vitamin E on incidence of retained fetal membranes and reproductive performance of dairy cows.
      ; vitamin E) but not all dairy cow studies (e.g.,
      • Mee J.F.
      • Rogers P.A.M.
      • O’Farrell K.J.
      Effect of feeding a mineral-vitamin supplement before calving on the calving performance of a trace element deficient dairy herd.
      ; oral micronutrients).
      Subclinical hypocalcemia has been shown to be a significant risk factor for both dystocia and PCM in one (
      • Bahrami-Yekdangi M.
      • Ghorbani G.
      • Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi A.
      • Mahnani A.
      • Drackley J.
      • Ghaffari M.
      Identification of cow-level risk factors and associations of selected blood macro-minerals at parturition with dystocia and stillbirth in Holstein dairy cows.
      ) but not in other dairy cow studies (
      • Wilhelm A.L.
      • Maquivar M.
      • Bas S.
      • Brick T.
      • Weiss T.
      • Bothe H.
      • Velez J.
      • Schuenemann G.
      Effect of serum calcium status at calving on survival, health, and performance of postpartum Holstein cows and calves under certified organic management.
      ;
      • Szenci O.
      • Abdelmegeid M.K.
      • Solymosi N.
      • Brydl E.
      • Bajcsy C.
      • Biksi I.
      • Kulcsár M.
      Prediction of stillbirth in Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle by measuring metabolic and endocrine parameters during the peripartal period.
      ). Recent data indicate that if anionic salts are used to induce metabolic acidosis in dairy cows to the point that urine pH is excessively reduced (pH < 6), to improve calcium homeostasis, risk of PCM increases significantly (
      • Melendez P.
      • Bartolome J.
      • Roeschmann C.
      • Soto B.
      • Arevalo A.
      • Möller J.
      • Coarsey M.
      The association of prepartum urine pH, plasma total calcium concentration at calving and postpartum diseases in Holstein dairy cattle.
      ). In addition, subclinical hypomagnesemia precalving has been shown to be a significant risk factor for PCM, associated with uterine inertia, in one (
      • Schneider C.
      Trace mineral deficiencies (Cu, Se, Mg) causing reproductive losses in a purebred Angus beef herd.
      ) though not in another study (
      • Szenci O.
      • Abdelmegeid M.K.
      • Solymosi N.
      • Brydl E.
      • Bajcsy C.
      • Biksi I.
      • Kulcsár M.
      Prediction of stillbirth in Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle by measuring metabolic and endocrine parameters during the peripartal period.
      ). Studies in dairy cows have shown that peripartum maternal hypocalcemia is associated with increased incidence of neonate enteritis (
      • Hunter A.L.
      Association of serum calcium status at calving on survival, health and performance of postpartum Holstein cows and calves. MSc Thesis. Comparative and Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University.
      ) and respiratory disease (
      • Wilhelm A.L.
      • Maquivar M.
      • Bas S.
      • Brick T.
      • Weiss T.
      • Bothe H.
      • Velez J.
      • Schuenemann G.
      Effect of serum calcium status at calving on survival, health, and performance of postpartum Holstein cows and calves under certified organic management.
      ) and that feeding a low DCAD diet to dairy cows can result in increased incidence of diarrhea and treatments in their calves (
      • Rajaeerad A.
      • Ghorbani G.
      • Khorvash M.
      • Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi A.
      • Mahdavi A.
      • Rashidi S.
      • Wilkens M.
      • Hünerberg M.
      Impact of a ration negative in dietary cation–anion difference and varying calcium supply fed before calving on colostrum quality of the dams and health status and growth performance of the calves.
      ). However, results may depend on the degree and duration of the DCAD as no effect on Ig absorption, calf morbidity, or performance was found in some recent dairy cow studies (
      • Collazos C.
      • Lopera C.
      • Santos J.
      • Laporta J.
      Effects of the level and duration of maternal diets with negative dietary cation-anion differences prepartum on calf growth, immunity, and mineral and energy metabolism.
      ;
      • Zimpel R.
      • Nehme Marinho M.
      • Almeida K.
      • Revilla Ruiz A.
      • Nelson C.
      • Thatcher W.
      • Santos J.
      Effects of maternal level of dietary cation-anion difference fed to prepartum nulliparous cows on offspring acid-base balance, metabolism, and growth.
      ).
      Surprisingly, there are very few studies on the effects of precalving BCS on neonatal dairy calf health. Recently
      • Karslıoğlu Kara N.
      Relation between non-infectious factors and neonatal calf health status in dairy herd.
      found that while there was a relationship between BCS at dry off and neonatal dairy calf health (using Wisconsin-Madison calf health scores), there was no association with BCS at calving. Better calf health (higher calf health scores) was associated with cows in optimum BCS (3–3.75 on a 5-point scale); this was attributed to the effects of precalving BCS on colostrum Ig content.
      • Wonfor R.
      • Rose M.
      Assessment of biomarkers for precision dairy calf rearing. Pages 1–18 in Farming Connect Report for the Welsh Government.
      found that transition period change in BCS of dairy cows had no effect on calf serum IgG concentrations or health (using Madison-Wisconsin calf health scores), but calves from cows which had no or small BCS loss (>−0.3 units on a 5-point scale) had higher ADG (0.63 kg/d) between 2 d and 4 wk.
      Studies attributed reduced perinate vigor (“weak calf syndrome”) to precalving protein and energy restriction (
      • Nakao T.
      • Zhang W.
      • Kida K.
      • Moriyoshi M.
      • Nakada K.
      Effects of nutrition during gestation on birth weight and viability of calves, and weight and expulsion time of placenta in dairy cattle.
      ). More recently, feeding grass silage alone to dairy cows has been associated with increased incidence of enteritis in dairy calves when compared with feeding grass silage and concentrates (
      • Dunn A.
      • Ashfield A.
      • Earley B.
      • Welsh M.
      • Gordon A.
      • McGee M.
      • Morrison S.
      Effect of concentrate supplementation during the dry period on colostrum quality and effects of colostrum feeding regimen on passive transfer of immunity, calf health, and performance.
      ). Additionally, supplementing pregnant dairy cows with ruminally protected AA has been associated with immunometabolic modulatory effects in offspring, suggesting hitherto unknown benefits of protein supplementation of dairy cows for their calves' growth and health (
      • Wang H.
      • Elsaadawy S.A.
      • Wu Z.
      • Bu D.P.
      Maternal supply of ruminally-protected lysine and methionine during close-up period enhances immunity and growth rate of neonatal calves.
      ). In contrast, while dairy cows fed mannan oligosaccharide produced more colostrum, this had no effect on calf growth or health in one study (
      • Westland A.
      • Martin R.
      • White R.
      • Martin J.
      Mannan oligosaccharide prepartum supplementation: Effects on dairy cow colostrum quality and quantity.
      ).
      • Immler M.
      • Büttner K.
      • Gärtner T.
      • Wehrend A.
      • Donat K.
      Maternal impact on serum immunoglobulin and total protein concentration in dairy calves.
      showed that higher maternal prepartum NEFA status was associated with higher dairy calf serum IgG concentration between 1 and 9 d.
      • Gao F.
      • Liu Y.
      • Zhang Z.
      • Zhang C.
      • Su H.
      • Li S.
      Effect of prepartum maternal energy density on the growth performance, immunity, and antioxidation capability of neonatal calves.
      reported that low maternal energy intake during the last 3 wk precalving reduced both dairy calf birth weight and body size, but also reduced immune system function. Supplementation of pregnant dairy cows with additional fat in the diet (compared with no fat supplementation) has been shown to increase apparent efficiency of absorption of Ig, serum IgG concentrations, and ADG (
      • Garcia M.
      • Greco L.
      • Favoreto M.
      • Marsola R.
      • Wang D.
      • Shin J.
      • Block E.
      • Thatcher W.
      • Santos J.
      • Staples C.
      Effect of supplementing essential fatty acids to pregnant nonlactating Holstein cows and their preweaned calves on calf performance, immune response and health.
      ).
      Late gestational maternal metabolic or oxidative stress (OS) has been shown to potentially affect offspring disease susceptibility. Thus, dairy calves born to dams with higher NEFA or OS index had lower BW, higher concentrations of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, haptoglobin, and TNF-α but lower LPS-induced inflammatory responses, suggesting compromised inflammatory response (
      • Ling T.
      • Hernandez-Jover M.
      • Sordillo L.
      • Abuelo A.
      Maternal late-gestation metabolic stress is associated with changes in immune and metabolic responses of dairy calves.
      ). Clinical effects on calf health are yet to be established.
      Imbalances of micronutrients in calves are associated with micronutrient-specific disorders (e.g., goiter, nutritional muscular dystrophy). Micronutrient imbalances are also associated with reduced dairy and beef calf immunity and resultant increased incidences of diarrhea, respiratory diseases, and ill thrift (
      • Enjalbert F.
      • Lebreton P.
      • Salat O.
      Effects of copper, zinc, and selenium status on performance and health in commercial dairy and beef herds: Retrospective study.
      ). Both the concentration and the chemical form of the micronutrient and interactions between minerals in the precalving diet can influence its effects on the neonate. In addition to their nutritional properties, some micronutrients are antioxidants that can counteract OS in both the dam and her offspring, though impacts on calf morbidity and mortality have yet to be demonstrated. For example, supplementing pregnant dairy cows with chromium-methionine has been shown to alter the metabolism and immunity of their newborn calves (
      • Gultepe E.E.
      • Uyarlar C.
      • Bayram I.
      Supplementation of Cr methionine during dry period of dairy cows and its effect on some production and biochemical parameters during early lactation and on immunity of their offspring.
      ). While supra-nutritional (more than is needed) maternal dietary selenium supplementation increased both absorption efficiency and serum concentrations of IgG in selenium-replete dairy calves in one study (
      • Hall J.A.
      • Bobe G.
      • Vorachek W.R.
      • Estill C.T.
      • Mosher W.D.
      • Pirelli G.J.
      • Gamroth M.
      Effect of supranutritional maternal and colostral selenium supplementation on passive absorption of immunoglobulin G in selenium-replete dairy calves.
      ), selenium-enriched yeast supplementation of dairy cows did not alter the Ig content of colostrum or calf serum in another study (
      • Mohrekesh M.
      • Foroozandeh Shahraki A.
      • Ghalamkari G.
      • Guyot H.
      Effects of three methods of oral selenium-enriched yeast supplementation on blood components and growth in Holstein dairy calves.
      ). In a study using selenium biofortified alfalfa in dairy cows, supplementation tended to improve dairy calf antioxidant activity via GSH-Px (
      • Jaaf S.
      • Batty B.
      • Krueger A.
      • Estill C.T.
      • Bionaz M.
      Selenium biofortified alfalfa hay fed in low quantities improves selenium status and glutathione peroxidase activity in transition dairy cows and their calves.
      ). Similarly, organic sources of some trace elements fed to dairy cows precalving can increase calf blood antioxidant capacity and Ig concentrations and health parameters (
      • Roshanzamir H.
      • Rezaei J.
      • Fazaeli H.
      Colostrum and milk performance, and blood immunity indices and minerals of Holstein cows receiving organic Mn, Zn and Cu sources.
      ).
      Overall, it may be concluded that there are highly variable impacts of precalving nutrition on colostrum yield, quality, and calf health. The limited number of studies in dairy cows, their generally small size, lack of replication, and conflicting results indicate that further research in this field is required before firm conclusions on specific nutrients and their impact(s) on specific aspects of calf health can be drawn.

      Notes

      This study received no external funding.
      No human or animal subjects were used, so this analysis did not require approval by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee or Institutional Review Board.
      The author has not stated any conflicts of interest.

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