Application of whole milk substitutes when raisning calves

In the farms of the Orel region, whole milk substitutes are increasingly used when raising calves during the dairy period. However, the attitude towards this method is ambiguous. If an animal is provided with adequate nutrition, it realizes its genetic potential. Experiments on the milking of whole milk substitutes to calves of the dairy period were carried out in the period from January to March 2021at the experimental station "Streletskaya", Orel district, Orel region. The studies were conducted on dairy calves of the Holstein breed. The calves were raised in cages with 3 heads in each cage. Until the 21st day of life, the calves of the experimental and control groups were fed exclusively with cow's milk. Whole milk substitutes in the experimental groups were given from the 21st day of life, gradually replacing whole milk, and from the 27th day of life, whole milk was completely excluded from the diet. During the research, it was found that the calves of the first experimental group had an absolute increase of 54.7 kg, which was 1.7% higher than in the calves of the control group, and 2.2% higher in the calves of the second experimental group. The maximum values for the average daily growth in calves were established in the age period from 2 to 3 months old. The largest average daily increase of 683.3g was observed in calves that received WMS - "Biolaktis 12", which was 2.5% and 2.0% higher compared to calves receiving WMS - "Unilak-16" and calves of the control group, respectively. When calculating the physique indices for the main body measurements of animals, a similar pattern of growth and development of calves in the experimental and control groups was established.