Abstract
To better understand the influence of breed of recipient dams and artificial colostrum feedings on the performance of male calves produced by embryo transfer (ET), ET-Japanese Black calves were divided into four groups by breed: recipient of Holstein-Friesian dams (HF), crossbred (Holstein×Japanese Black) dams (F1), Japanese Black dams (JB) and, as a negative control (NC), JB dams without colostrum but receiving an artificial colostrum. Male calves produced by artificial insemination of JB dams, receiving the dam's colostrum, were also provided as a positive control (PC). All calves were moved into individual pens on day 8, and were given the same commercial milk replacement. Calves were weaned at 61 days of age and monitored until 180 days of age. Mean live weights at birth were not significantly different among groups except for calves of HF, the weights of which were greater than other groups (P<0.05). Mean daily gains also showed no significant differences among the groups, including PC and NC. All calves were in a good healthy condition, which was also supported by changes in the level of blood parameters, irrespective of the breed of their dams. It was concluded that there was no appreciable effect of the breed of recipient dams on the performance of Japanese Black male calves. The artificial colostrum feeding did not show any adverse effect on the performance of ET-calves, although serum protein and globulin tended to be lower.
