Impacts of feeding milk replacer supplemented with increasing concentrations of choline on feed intake, growth, and scouring incidence for 7 weeks preweaning and 1 week postweaning

Abstract

Graphical Abstract Summary: We investigated the effect of additional choline supplementation in dairy calves. There were 4 treatments: 0, 700, 1,400, or 2,100 mg/kg choline supplemented in milk replacer (MR). Average daily intake and MR intake were increased when choline was supplemented at 700 mg/kg, but not at greater amounts. All treatments had a basal choline concentration that was greater than the current National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommendations of 1,000 mg/kg dry matter (DM). Although positive effects on growth were observed with 700 mg/kg supplementation, future research examining if similar effects could be accomplished with lower doses should be conducted to determine optimal choline requirements for calf growth and health.