THE EFFECT OF VITAMIN AND MINERAL NUTRITION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRE-WEANING CALVES
Adequate and balanced nutrition is a key element for increasing livestock efficiency under current conditions of livestock farming. Young cattle are particularly sensitive to mineral and vitamin deficiency. Mineral and vitamin requirements increase due to intensive growth. Feed supplements are widely used to make up for these deficiencies. Feed supplements with biologically active substances fill the nutrient deficiency in animal diet and activate metabolic processes exerting integrated positive impact on the entire animal body. The research goal was to study the effect of vitamin and mineral nutrition on the development of pre-weaning calves. To make the experiment, 3 groups of Black-Pied pre-weaning calves were selected. The first (control group) received the basic diet (BD), the second (trial) group - BD and micronutrient supplements, and the third (trial) group received BD, micronutrient supplements and Tetravit injections. It was revealed that the mineral and vitamin supplements exerted positive effect on calf development. By the end of pre-weaning period, the calves of the 3rd group reached a live weight of 165.1 kg; and they outperformed their herd-mates of the 2nd and 1st groups by 9.3 and 26.3 kg, respectively. The use of mineral supplements and Tetravit injections improved blood morphological composition of the trial animals; hemoglobin content in the 2nd group increased by 3.2 g L; 3rd group - by 8.4 g L as compared to the control. Consequently, the use of micronutrient salts alone or in combination with Tetravit injections promotes the growth and development of calves.