Table 3. Pre- and post-weaning performance and structural growth of heifers of control (CON) and supplemented with essential oils blend (BEO) in milk replacer during pre-weaning.
| Item | Treatment | SEM | P–value3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CON1 (n = 15) | BEO2 (n = 14) | T | W | T x W | ||
| Performance | ||||||
| Birth BW (kg) | 32.40 | 31.97 | 0.59 | 0.85 | – | – |
| Weaning BW (kg) | 64.36 | 66.66 | 1.07 | 0.45 | – | – |
| Final BW (kg) | 89.88 | 93.34 | 1.57 | 0.57 | – | – |
| ADG preweaning (kg/d) | 0.55 | 0.53 | 0.02 | 0.49 | <0.001 | 0.23 |
| ADG postweaning (kg/d) | 0.81 | 0.84 | 0.27 | 0.76 | 0.001 | 0.60 |
| Feed efficiency preweaning (kg/kg) | 0.62 | 0.56 | 0.008 | 0.06 | <0.0001 | 0.29 |
| Feed efficiency postweaning (kg/kg) | 0.44 | 0.42 | 0.04 | 0.50 | 0.68 | 0.42 |
| Body measures | ||||||
| Preweaning (4 to 60 d) | ||||||
| Withers height (cm) | 72.74 | 72.59 | 1.25 | 0.86 | <0.001 | 0.48 |
| Rump height (cm) | 75.89 | 75.90 | 0.66 | 0.98 | <0.001 | 0.62 |
| Rump width (cm) | 19.03 | 19.42 | 0.66 | 0.23 | <0.001 | 0.94 |
| Heart girth (cm) | 80.70 | 81.50 | 0.009 | 0.34 | <0.001 | 0.68 |
| Postweaning (61 to 90 d) | ||||||
| Withers height (cm) | 82.66 | 82.55 | 1.06 | 0.92 | <0.001 | 0.72 |
| Rump height (cm) | 86.02 | 86.64 | 1.07 | 0.61 | <0.001 | 0.80 |
| Rump width (cm) | 22.59 | 22.99 | 0.43 | 0.28 | <0.001 | 0.40 |
| Heart girth (cm) | 96.55 | 97.85 | 1.44 | 0.27 | <0.001 | 0.40 |
1CON = control
2BEO = 1 g/calf/d blend of essential oil.
3T = treatment effect; W = week effect, T x W = treatment by week interactions.