TABLE 1.
Nutrient composition of the milk replacer, alfalfa hay, starter used in the present study.
| Items (% of dry matter) | Milk replacer1 | Alfalfa hay | Starter feed |
| Dry matter (% as fed) | 95.00 | 93.70 | 87.80 |
| Sugar | − | − | 6.50 |
| Starch | − | − | 40.50 |
| Crude protein | 26.24 | 12.51 | 20.01 |
| Ether extract | 27.79 | 0.89 | 4.70 |
| Neutral detergent fiber | − | 56.45 | 10.90 |
| Acid detergent fiber | − | 40.40 | 4.10 |
| Calcium | 2.50 | 0.99 | 0.79 |
| Phosphorus | 1.40 | 0.16 | 0.46 |
| Lysine | 2.20 | 0.84 | 1.05 |
| Methionine | 1.00 | 0.16 | 0.34 |
1The milk replacer was stored as a powder and contained whole milk powder, whey powder, protein concentrate, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, lysine, methionine, threonine, sodium chloride, copper, zinc manganese, and iron.