Supplementation of essential nutrients, selenium, iron and vitamin E for suckling calves under immunological challenge

Abstract

The breeding and nutrition of young calves are important for the production system due to their great impact on future milk production potential. With the aim of studying the performance and health of calves in the suckling phase, with supplementation of selenium, iron and vitamin E undergoing immunological challenge with Anaplasma marginale, an experiment was carried out on the experimental farm using 42 newborn Holstein male calves aged up to 68 days, being submitted to the following treatments: Control milk replacer; SeVitE (milk replacer supplemented with selenium and vitamin E; SeVitEFe (milk replacer supplemented with selenium, vitamin E, and Fe. Selenium, iron, and vitamin E intakes were higher in supplemented animals. Increase in selenium serum was observed in calves, without changes in vitamin E and iron serum. Plasma lactate concentration was lower in supplemented animals and those with SeVitEFe had the lowest urea at 60 days compared to control. Hematological parameters were not influenced by treatments, they only changed with the age of animals. Glutathione peroxidase plasma was higher in supplemented animals, with interaction between treatment and time, where higher concentrations were observed at 40 days of experiment for supplemented calves compared to control. The performance of animals was not influenced by treatments. Animals with SeVitEFe had lower incidence of diarrhea. Supplementation of selenium, iron and vitamin E showed effectiveness in improving the oxidative metabolism and reducing the incidence of diarrhea of animals, but not to the point of improving their performance.