Partial replacement of milk proteins by wheat or maize in milk feed : the influence on digestibility in the veal calf

Abstract

The aim of this experiment was to study the effect of the partial replacement of milk protein by wheat or maize protein on digestibility and nitrogen balance in the veal calf. Four milk-substitutes (T, BV, BD and M) were given to groups of 6 preruminant calves between 4-19 weeks of age. In the T diet, protein was entirely provided by skim milk powder. In the other diets, 19 % of the protein was provided either by wheat gluten (vital : BV or devitalized : BD) or by a maize protein concentrate (M). The apparent digestibility and nitrogen balance, measured during the 8^th and the 14^th week of age, were not significantly altered by the source of dietary protein : the mean values for nitrogen digestibility were 0.95, 0.95, 0.95 and 0.93 with the T, BV, BD and M diets, respectively. The calculated values for the digestibility of nitrogen provided by BV, BD and M products were 0.94, 0.93 and 0.86. Circulatory antibodies were developped by the calves of BV, BD and M groups against the corresponding proteins. However, none of them appeared to induce allergic responses. Devitalization had no effect on the utilization of wheat gluten by the calves, but improved its suspensibility.