Boosting Calf Weaning Performance with BioCell®

Boosting Calf Weaning Performance with BioCell®

When margins are tight, making the most of available forage and feed is essential to getting dairy replacements and beef animals off to the right start. The value of a ration ultimately depends on how effectively cattle can digest and utilise its nutrients. Fibre digestion plays a central role in this process, converting forage into energy to support growth while helping maintain a stable rumen environment.

BioCell® (Saccharomyces cerevisiae DBVPG 48 SF) has been selected for its high viable cell count (CFU/g) and vitality, including under challenging feeding conditions such as high-grain diets. On-farm trials have demonstrated that BioCell® can support improvements in ration digestibility, feed conversion and average daily gain.

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The Trials

Trials involving approximately 7,000 calves across three farms in Italy were conducted to evaluate the effects of BioCell® supplementation on calf performance.

At 3–4 weeks of age, calves were blocked by body weight and randomly assigned to either a control or BioCell® treatment group. Calves were housed in pens of six animals, with the pen used as the experimental unit. Treatment pens received BioCell® M16 supplementation for nine weeks.

All calves were offered a whey-based milk replacer containing 18% fat and 22% crude protein, at a rate of 0.9 kg of powder per calf per day. An 18% crude-protein calf starter concentrate was offered ad libitum, alongside fresh forage and free access to water. Feed offered and feed refused were weighed daily to monitor feed intake and calculate feed efficiency.

Results

Across all three farms, BioCell® supplementation increased solid feed intake. The increased calf starter intake was attributed to better rumen development, supporting the calf's transition towards to solid feed.  The increase in solid feed intake was accompanied by higher average daily gain (ADG), with improvements of approximately 50–90 g/day across the three farms. By 12 weeks of age, this resulted in an average bodyweight advantage of 3.8 kg for calves receiving BioCell®.

Table 1 Average daily gain of calves from 3 to 12 weeks of age with or without BioCell® supplementation

More importantly, the improvement in performance was not simply a result of increased feed intake. Feed conversion efficiency also improved, indicating that calves receiving BioCell® were able to convert their feed into bodyweight more efficiently.

This improvement in feed efficiency is consistent with BioCell®'s role in supporting rumen function and digestion, helping calves make better use of the nutrients available in the ration.

Table 2 Feed conversion ratio of calves from 3 to 12 weeks of age with or without BioCell® supplementation