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Observations on Efficacy of Vitamin Supplements for New-Born Calves¹

Agricultural Experiment Stations of The State College of Washington, Rhode Island State College and University of New Hampshire

Abstract

1. Two brown pellets containing 250,000 I. U. of vitamin A, 50,000 I. U. of vitamin D, and 500 mg. of niacin and white placebo pellets were alternately fed on the day of birth to 347 calves located on 48 dairy farms in Washington, two dairy farms in Rhode Island and nine dairy farms in New Hampshire. Records on scours, colds, pneumonia and death losses were recorded by cooperating dairymen for eight weeks in the Washington trial and for thirty days in the Rhode Island and New Hampshire trials.
   
2. There was no difference in the incidence of scouring; 31.7 percent of the calves supplemented on the day of birth scoured as compared to 32.3 percent for the controls.
   
3. The mean blood plasma vitamin A level of 32 experimental Holstein calves was 11.06 micrograms per 100 ml. of plasma as compared to 9.78 for 36 control Holstein calves at 46 and 47 days of age, respectively.
   
4. Only 9.38 percent of the 32 experimental Holstein calves had blood plasma vitamin A values below 7.00 micrograms per 100 ml. of plasma, whereas 25.0 percent of the 36 controls were in this range.
   
5. Blood plasma vitamin D values on four composite blood samples were approximately 2.5 times higher in experimental calves.
   
6. Supplementary feeding of a massive dose of vitamins to calves at birth was of no benefit in reducing colds, pneumonia, scours and death losses under a wide variety of conditions in Washington, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
   

¹ Published as Scientific Paper No. 824, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Stations, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, State College of Washington, Pullman, Washington.

² Acknowledgment is made to Standard Brands, Incorporated, New York, N. Y. for supplying the vitamin capsules used in this experiment and for a grant which defrayed the cost of supervision of this experiment, and to Miss Grace McGuire of the Laboratory of Industrial Hygiene, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., for her aid in the vitamin D assays.