The nutritive value of cooked potato in liquid and creep diets for early-weaned calves

Abstract

SUMMARY 1. In three experiments, 112 7-day-old British Friesian male calves were used in performance and digestibility trials to evaluate dried cooked potato in liquid and creep diets. 2. A 15% depression in growth rate for each 10% inclusion of cooked potato flour in liquid diets was recorded from 4 to 21 days and the faeces of potato-fed calves also tended to be less solid. Over the whole feeding period, liquid diets containing up to 20% potato did not significantly depress performance to weaning at 35 days. 3. Only when a liquid diet containing potato starch was introduced prior to 4 weeks of age was daily live-weight gain markedly depressed. 4. Incorporating potato starch in milk diets did not influence creep intake. 5. Calves offered a creep diet containing 40% cooked potato flake ate less, but grew faster than calves given a diet containing 40% flakedmaize. At constant intakes of creep, daily gains were 14 to 18% greater on the diet containing potato flake. 6. The apparent digestibility of gross energy and nitrogen was 0·67 and 0·66 for the flaked maize creep and 0·71 and 0·69 for the potato creep. Digestible energy and digestible nitrogen values were 12·7 MJ and 18·2 g/kg dry matter for the maize diet and 13·0 MJ and 19·0 g/kg dry matter for the flaked potato diet. 7. The incidence of bloat was higher for calves fed on potato than for those fed on maize.