[Oral and intramuscular intervention with dextriferron in growing male calves. 4. Development of food intake during the suckling period].

The influence of oral and intramuscular ferridextrane intervention on the calves' absolute and relative consumption of skim milk, rearing feed for calves and lucerne hay in the 1st, 4th and 8th week of their stay in the weaning range of the rearing farm was investigated. The effect of iron substitution was dependent on the duration of keeping and of the experiment and, under conditions of the drinking regime given, manifested itself both in the development of the absolute and in the development of the relative skim milk intake, but not in that of dry feed consumption. The causes and consequences of the time dependence of the influence of iron intervention on feed consumption are discussed. In the 8th week of keeping the nutrient intake of the orally substituted group was between 8.0 and 9.0% higher than that of the control animals. With the drinking regime used, which led to a relatively quick development of dry feed consumption, differences between the test groups with regard to the consumption of concentrated feed and hay as well as the relative energy and protein quota from the fluid feed in relation to the complete energy and protein intake of the 8th week of keeping could not be proved. Based on these criteria, iron intervention was without influence on the stage of development of the ruminal digestion of the rearing calves reached at the end of the 56-day experiment. With a drinking regime which results in a relatively slow development of dry feed consumption, such an effect is certainly probable.