Symposium review: Re-evaluation of National Research Council energy estimates in calf starters

Provision of nutrients in appropriate amounts to meet nutrient requirements for growth, production, and reproduction is the basis for modern animal nutrition. Ration formulation systems predict nutrient requirements based on numerous inputs and then predict nutrient supply based on predicted intake and nutrient content of feeds. Energy systems are used to predict energy supply based on gross caloric content of feeds followed by adjustments for digestion and metabolism of ingested energy. Many models of energy supply use static coefficients of digestibility based on nutrient composition of feed. Other models partition digestion dynamically between ruminal and postruminal digestion but use static estimates of intestinal digestibility to predict energy supplied to the animal. In young calves, both ruminal fermentation and intestinal digestion are underdeveloped; therefore, existing models of energy supply might overestimate the energy available before complete gastrointestinal maturation. In a series of experiments, we reported that total-tract digestion of nutrients changes with advancing age and nutrient intake. Total-tract digestion was measured in calves from 3 to 16 wk of age when fed different amounts and types of milk replacers. Calves were also fed different types of calf starter for ad libitum consumption. Total-tract digestibility of protein, fat, neutral detergent fiber, and nonfiber carbohydrate (NFC) was used to calculate the metabolizable energy (ME) in starter. We used nonlinear regression to estimate the contribution of protein and fat from starter and milk replacer before weaning. Early in life, calculated ME of starter was low and increased with increasing intake of NFC. Cumulative intake of NFC was more highly correlated with changing ME values than other indices, including age, intake of milk replacer, or intake of other nutrients in starter. When calves consumed at least of 15 kg of NFC, ME calculated from digestibility measurements was similar to the ME calculated using National Research Council equations and indicated maturation of gastrointestinal digestion. Our data suggest that intake of NFC is critical to gastrointestinal maturation and the calf's ability to extract energy from calf starter.