Effects of local concentrate and weaning age on the performance of crossbred calves

Thirty calves were allocated to three diets and two weaning ages (3 × 2 factorial) to study the effects of local concentrates (A (T1) and B (T2)) and weaning age (9 and 12 weeks) on dry matter intake, growth and costs of gain. All calves were fed whole milk and hay and either supplemented with the concentrates or unsupplemented (T3). Mean total dry matter intake (1.53 vs 0.93 kg/d) and growth rate (0.31 vs 0.23 kg/d) were higher (P<0.05), whereas the costs of gain (2123 vs 2696 shillings/kg gain) were lower for supplemented than unsupplemented calves. Early weaned calves had lower (0.26 vs 0.30 kg/d) gain than late weaned. It is concluded that weaning at 12 weeks and supplementing local concentrates improve performance of calves.