The effect of parenteral vitamin B12 on the growth rate of dairy calves over the summer and autumn on seven farms from the Central Plateau, New Zealand.

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dc.citation.issue1
dc.citation.volume72
dc.contributor.authorGibson M
dc.contributor.authorLawrence KE
dc.contributor.authorBalcomb C
dc.contributor.authorLaven RA
dc.coverage.spatialEngland
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-31T20:04:27Z
dc.date.available2024-07-31T20:04:27Z
dc.date.issued2024-01-01
dc.description.abstractAIMS: To investigate the effect of parenteral vitamin B12 supplementation on the growth rate of dairy heifer calves over the summer and autumn on seven farms from the Central Plateau of New Zealand, an area historically associated with low cobalt levels in grazing pasture. METHODS: This was a controlled clinical trial conducted on a convenience sample of seven farms with young female calves randomly assigned to three vitamin B12 treatment groups and followed through a grazing season. Two treatment groups received either monthly SC injections of a short-acting (SA) B12 formulation or 3-monthly injections of a long-acting (LA) B12 formulation and the third group received no treatment (NT). No additional parenteral vitamin B12 was given; however, all calves received additional cobalt (0.04-0.4 mg Co/kg liveweight) in the mineralised anthelmintic drenches given orally every month. Liveweight was recorded in December/January and at the end of the trial in May/June/July depending on farm. Pasture cobalt concentrations (mg/kg DM) were measured every month using 500-g herbage samples from 100-m transects in the area about to be grazed by the trial groups. RESULTS: There was evidence for a difference in growth rate between groups with mean final weight of 228 (95% CI = 212-243) kg for the LA groups, 224 (95% CI = 209-239) kg for the SA groups and 226 (95% CI = 211-241) kg for the NT groups respectively, (global p-value = 0.014). Calves given SA vitamin B12 were 3.77 (95% CI = 0.71-6.82) kg lighter than calves given LA vitamin B12 (p = 0.011). There was no evidence for a change in pasture cobalt concentrations (p = 0.32). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The results of this trial raise the question as to whether the routine use of vitamin B12 supplementation in young cattle from areas traditionally thought to be cobalt deficient is necessary, and further raise the possibility that vitamin B12 supplementation by repeated injection of SA products may negatively impact growth rates.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.edition2024
dc.format.pagination10-16
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37675455
dc.identifier.citationGibson M, Lawrence KE, Balcomb C, Laven RA. (2024). The effect of parenteral vitamin B12 on the growth rate of dairy calves over the summer and autumn on seven farms from the Central Plateau, New Zealand.. N Z Vet J. 72. 1. (pp. 10-16).
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/00480169.2023.2254729
dc.identifier.eissn1176-0710
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0048-0169
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/71175
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherTaylor and Francis Group
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00480169.2023.2254729?
dc.relation.isPartOfN Z Vet J
dc.rights(c) 2023 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectCattle
dc.subjectNew Zealand
dc.subjectbovine
dc.subjectcobalt
dc.subjectgrass-fed
dc.subjectgrowth rate
dc.subjectvitamin B12 supplementation
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectCattle
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectFarms
dc.subjectVitamin B 12
dc.subjectNew Zealand
dc.subjectSeasons
dc.subjectCobalt
dc.subjectVitamins
dc.titleThe effect of parenteral vitamin B12 on the growth rate of dairy calves over the summer and autumn on seven farms from the Central Plateau, New Zealand.
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id480228
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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