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Effects of Dietary Arsanilic Acid on the Growth and Well-Being of Young Dairy Calves1
E F F E C T S OF D I E T A R Y A R S A N I L I C A C I D ON T H E G R O W T H AND WELL-BEING OF YOUNG DAIRY CALVES 1 E. E. B A R T L E Y , F. W. A T K E S O N , H. C. F R Y E R , A~D F. C. F O U N T A I N E
Deparfment of Dairy Husbandry and Statistical Laboratory Kansas Agricultural Experi~ncnt Station, Ma~thattan
Certain organic arsenicals have been reported to be effective in stimulating the growth of chickens, turkeys, and swine (1, 4, 6, 9). F r o s t (4) presumes t h a t " o n e action of the phenylarsonic acids is similar to that of a n t i b i o t i c s - - i n some way altering bacterial metabolism in the t r a c t to f a v o r i m p r o v e d n u t r i t i o n of the a n i m a l . " The effects of feeding arsenicals to d a i r y calves were determined by G r a f and H o l d a w a y (5), who fed p-aminophenylarsonic acid at three levels, 60, 120, and 240 g., incorporated in each ton of milk replacement or calf starter. They reported a lower incidence of scours and more r a p i d gains d u r i n g the first 4 weeks a f t e r birth. The calves fed levels of 60 or 120 g. per ton of feed made slightly greater gains t h a n those fed the 240-g. level. Owen et al. (8) r e p o r t e d greater weight gains for calves fed 3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenyl arsonic acid at the rate of 57 p.p.m, of total d r y m a t t e r in ration t h a n for controls or for calves fed terramyein. However, calves fed the arsonic acid made gains that were similar to gains made by calves fed bacitracin and less t h a n gains made b y calves fed terramycin. Dewey (3) supplemented the diets of calves between 5 and 90 days of age with 20 rag. of sodium arsanilate daily per 100 lb. body weight. No difference in growth rate was observed between the supplemented and control calves. Also, supplementation of the diet of 4-nlonth-old calves on pasture with 40 mg. of sodium arsanilate daily per 100 lb. body weight did not produce a n y increase in growth rate. However, with five 4-month-old calves t h a t had been r e t a r d e d in growth for reasons other t h a n lack of feed, significant increases in growth rate resulted when the calves were supplemented with 15 mg. of sodium a rsanilate daily per 100 lb. body weight. The experiment reported herein was u n d e r t a k e n to provide additional information on the feeding of arsenicals to calves. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Eighteen female calves (four Ayrshires, six Holsteins, and eight Jerseys) were paired by breed and age. F r o m b i r t h to 23 weeks of age, 50 rag. of paminophenylarsonic acid'-' (arsanilie acid) was given once daily b y capsule to one m e m b e r selected at r a n d o m from each pair. the other calf of each p a i r serving as the control. All calves received their m o t h e r s ' eolostrum the first 3 days. Received for publication October 7, 1955. 1Contribution No. 241, Department of Dairy Husbandry, and No. 23, Statistical Laboratory, Kansas Agricu]tura] Experiment Station, Manhattan. 2 Through the courtesy of D. V. Frost, Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill. 989
990
E.E.
BARTLEY ET AL
TABLE 1 Effect of arsanilic acid on the weights of calves at 4-week intervals
Weight in per cent of birth weight at:
Supplement
No. of calves
4 wk.
8 wk.
12 wk.
16 wk.
20 wk.
23 wk.
Arsanilie acid '~ None (Control)
9 9
118 124
160 168
204 218
262 266
311 311
355 358
50 rag. daily by capsule. B e g i n n i n g w i t h t h e f o u r t h d a y t h e y were f e d whole m i l k a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y 10~iof b o d y w e i g h t d a i l y f o r the n e x t 4 weeks. A f t e r the f o u r t h week, the r a t e of nfilk f e e d i n g was g r a d u a l l y r e d u c e d u n t i l a t o t a l of 350 lb. h a d b e e n consumed. The calves u s u a l l y w e r e w e a n e d f r o m m i l k b e t w e e n 6 a n d 8 weeks of age. A l f a l f a h a y a n d a c a l f s t a r t e r w e r e f e d a d l i b i t u m b e g i n n i n g at 1 week of age. A t t h e 17th week of age, t h e calves were c h a n g e d f r o m t h e s t a r t e r to a c a l f g r o w e r . C o n s u m p t i o n of s t a r t e r a n d g r o w e r was l i m i t e d to 5 lb. f o r H o l s t e i n s a n d A y r shires a n d 4 lb. f o r J e r s e y s . T h e calves were w e i g h e d at w e e k l y i n t e r v a l s . D e t a i l s on t h e c o m p o s i t i o n of the f e e d s a n d on t h e m e t h o d of f e e d i n g a n d m a n a g e m e n t were d e s c r i b e d in a p r e v i o u s p a p e r ( 2 ) . RESULTS The effect of a r s a n i l i c a c i d on g r o w t h is s h o w n in T a b l e 1. T h e calves v a r i e d in size o w i n g to differences i n b r e e d , sex, a n d b i r t h w e i g h t . T h e r e f o r e , all w e i g h t d a t a w e r e c o n v e r t e d to a c o m p a r a b l e basis b y c o n v e r t i n g t h e w e e k l y b o d y w e i g h t s of each calf i n t o a p e r c e n t a g e of o r i g i n a l b i r t h w e i g h t , t h e o r i g i n a l b i r t h weight b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d 100 f o r each c a l f r e g a r d l e s s of size. The g r o w t h d a t a in T a b l e 1 a r e p r e s e n t e d b y 4-week i n t e r v a l s to save space. T h e r e were no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t differences in size b e t w e e n c o n t r o l calves a n d those f e d a r s a n i l i e a c i d at a n y t i m e d u r i n g t h e 23-week p e r i o d of s t u d y . This c o n c l u s i o n is b a s e d on 23 t-tests a p p l i e d to w e e k l y differeuces b e t w e e n the size of calves f e d a r s a n i l i c a c i d a n d t h e i r p a i r e d controls. T h e f e e d i n t a k e s w e r e s t u d i e d f r o m b i r t h to 16 weeks, i n c l u s i v e , as t h i s p e r i o d was c o n s i d e r e d to be of sufficient d u r a t i o n to e v a l u a t e t h e effect of a r s a n i l i c acic] on feed c o n s u m p t i o n . A n a n a l y s i s of v a r i a n c e was m a d e of the b o d y w e i g h t g a i n a n d f e e d efficiency f o r t h i s p e r i o d ( T a b l e 2). The differences b e t w e e n c o n t r o l calves a n d those f e d a r s a n i l i c a c i d were small a n d not s t a t i s t i c a l l y significant. TABLE
2
Effect of arsanilic acid on body weight gailt and efficiency of gain of calves from birth to 16 .weel~s of ~.qe '~
Supplement
No. of e,~Ices
Arsanilic acid c None (Control)
9 9
Birth weight
Gain in wt.
TDN/Ib gain b
Digestible protein/lb ga in ~
(lb.)
(lb.)
(lb.)
(lb.)
76 73
119 114
2.91 3.04
0.66 0.69
None of these differences was statistically significant. b Calculated from lYlorrison's (7) tables. c 50 mg. daily by capsule.
EFFECTS OF ARSENICALS ON CALVES
991
S t u d y of the effects of the experimental t r e a t m e n t s on calf health showed that the nine control calves had a total of 16 digestive and r e s p i r a t o r y infections, five slight, two medium, and nine severe. The nine calves receiving arsanilic acid had ]5 infections, five slight, one medium, and nine severe. Thus, there was no a p p a r e n t difference between control calves and those fed arsanilie acid in incidence of disease. Also, there was no a p p a r e n t difference in physical condition between the two groups of calves. I n the environment of this experiment, neither beneficial nor deleterious effects resulted f r o m feeding 50 mg. of arsanilic acid daily per calf. SUMMARY
This experiment was initiated to s t u d y the effects of arsanilic acid on the growth and well-being of young d a i r y calves. Eighteen calves were divided into two groups, balanced for age and breed. Calves in one g r o u p received 50 rag. of arsanilic acid daily per calf, and those in the control group received no arsanilic acid. All calves were started on experiment at birth and continued until 23 weeks of age. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in regard to rate of weight gain or feed efficiency. Also, there was no a p p a r e n t difference between the two groups in incidence of disease or in physical appearante.
REFERE:NCES (1) ABBOTT, O. J., BIRD, H. I~., AND CRAVENS, W. W. E f f e c t s of D i e t a r y A r s a n i l i c Acid on Chicks. Poultry Sei., 33: 1245. 1954. (2) BARTLE¥, E. E., F~YER, H. C., AT'KESON, F. W., FOUNTAINE, F. C., AND RADISSON, J. J. A n t i b i o t i c s in D a i r y Cattle :Nutrition. V. C o m p a r a t i v e E f f e c t s of S t r e p t o m y c i n a n d A u r e o m y c i n on the Growth a n d W e l l - B e i n g of Y o u n g D a i r y Calves. J. Dairy Sei., 38: 1257. 1955. (3) DEWEY, R. J. T h e I n f l u e n c e of S o d i u m A r s a n i l a t e S u p p l e m e n t a t i o n on the Growth of Y o u n g D a i r y H e i f e r s . M.S. thesis, A. a n d M. College of Texas, College S t a t i o n . 1954. (4) FROST, D. V. C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the S a f e t y of A r s a n i l i c A c i d for U s e in P o u l t r y F e e d s . Poultry Sci., 32: 217. 1953. (5) GRAF, G. C., AND HOLDAWAY, C. W. T h e V a l u e of A r s e n i c A c i d D e r i v a t i v e s as a G r o w t h S t i m u l a n t w h e n F e d to Calves. ( A b s . ) J. Dairy Sci., 35: 492. 1952. (6) MILLIGAN, J. L., \VILCKE, H. L., .]~[ARR, J. E., AND BETttKE, R. ~V[. A r s e n i c Acid in Comm e r c i a l Broiler R a t i o n s . Poultry Sci., 34: 794. 1955. (7) MORRISON, F. B. Feeds and Feeding. 2 1 s t ed. • o r r i s o n P u b L Co., N e w York. 1948. (8) O~VEN, F. C., VOELKER, H. ~I., JACOBSEN, :N. L., AND ALLEN, I~. S. T h e C o m p a r a t i v e E f f e c t s of V a r i o u s A n t i b i o t i c s a n d a n A r s e n i c a l u p o n t h e Growth, H e a l t h , a n d C e r t a i n Blood C o n s t i t u e n t s of D a i r y Calves. J. Dairy Sci., 38: 891. 1955. ( 9 ) SC~END~L, H. E., AND JOHNSON, B. C. A S t u d y o f ' ~ G r o w t h S t i m u l a n t s " U s i n g t h e B a b y P i g . J. Animal Sci., 14"- 19. ]955.
Deparfment of Dairy Husbandry and Statistical Laboratory Kansas Agricultural Experi~ncnt Station, Ma~thattan
Certain organic arsenicals have been reported to be effective in stimulating the growth of chickens, turkeys, and swine (1, 4, 6, 9). F r o s t (4) presumes t h a t " o n e action of the phenylarsonic acids is similar to that of a n t i b i o t i c s - - i n some way altering bacterial metabolism in the t r a c t to f a v o r i m p r o v e d n u t r i t i o n of the a n i m a l . " The effects of feeding arsenicals to d a i r y calves were determined by G r a f and H o l d a w a y (5), who fed p-aminophenylarsonic acid at three levels, 60, 120, and 240 g., incorporated in each ton of milk replacement or calf starter. They reported a lower incidence of scours and more r a p i d gains d u r i n g the first 4 weeks a f t e r birth. The calves fed levels of 60 or 120 g. per ton of feed made slightly greater gains t h a n those fed the 240-g. level. Owen et al. (8) r e p o r t e d greater weight gains for calves fed 3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenyl arsonic acid at the rate of 57 p.p.m, of total d r y m a t t e r in ration t h a n for controls or for calves fed terramyein. However, calves fed the arsonic acid made gains that were similar to gains made by calves fed bacitracin and less t h a n gains made b y calves fed terramycin. Dewey (3) supplemented the diets of calves between 5 and 90 days of age with 20 rag. of sodium arsanilate daily per 100 lb. body weight. No difference in growth rate was observed between the supplemented and control calves. Also, supplementation of the diet of 4-nlonth-old calves on pasture with 40 mg. of sodium arsanilate daily per 100 lb. body weight did not produce a n y increase in growth rate. However, with five 4-month-old calves t h a t had been r e t a r d e d in growth for reasons other t h a n lack of feed, significant increases in growth rate resulted when the calves were supplemented with 15 mg. of sodium a rsanilate daily per 100 lb. body weight. The experiment reported herein was u n d e r t a k e n to provide additional information on the feeding of arsenicals to calves. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Eighteen female calves (four Ayrshires, six Holsteins, and eight Jerseys) were paired by breed and age. F r o m b i r t h to 23 weeks of age, 50 rag. of paminophenylarsonic acid'-' (arsanilie acid) was given once daily b y capsule to one m e m b e r selected at r a n d o m from each pair. the other calf of each p a i r serving as the control. All calves received their m o t h e r s ' eolostrum the first 3 days. Received for publication October 7, 1955. 1Contribution No. 241, Department of Dairy Husbandry, and No. 23, Statistical Laboratory, Kansas Agricu]tura] Experiment Station, Manhattan. 2 Through the courtesy of D. V. Frost, Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill. 989
990
E.E.
BARTLEY ET AL
TABLE 1 Effect of arsanilic acid on the weights of calves at 4-week intervals
Weight in per cent of birth weight at:
Supplement
No. of calves
4 wk.
8 wk.
12 wk.
16 wk.
20 wk.
23 wk.
Arsanilie acid '~ None (Control)
9 9
118 124
160 168
204 218
262 266
311 311
355 358
50 rag. daily by capsule. B e g i n n i n g w i t h t h e f o u r t h d a y t h e y were f e d whole m i l k a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y 10~iof b o d y w e i g h t d a i l y f o r the n e x t 4 weeks. A f t e r the f o u r t h week, the r a t e of nfilk f e e d i n g was g r a d u a l l y r e d u c e d u n t i l a t o t a l of 350 lb. h a d b e e n consumed. The calves u s u a l l y w e r e w e a n e d f r o m m i l k b e t w e e n 6 a n d 8 weeks of age. A l f a l f a h a y a n d a c a l f s t a r t e r w e r e f e d a d l i b i t u m b e g i n n i n g at 1 week of age. A t t h e 17th week of age, t h e calves were c h a n g e d f r o m t h e s t a r t e r to a c a l f g r o w e r . C o n s u m p t i o n of s t a r t e r a n d g r o w e r was l i m i t e d to 5 lb. f o r H o l s t e i n s a n d A y r shires a n d 4 lb. f o r J e r s e y s . T h e calves were w e i g h e d at w e e k l y i n t e r v a l s . D e t a i l s on t h e c o m p o s i t i o n of the f e e d s a n d on t h e m e t h o d of f e e d i n g a n d m a n a g e m e n t were d e s c r i b e d in a p r e v i o u s p a p e r ( 2 ) . RESULTS The effect of a r s a n i l i c a c i d on g r o w t h is s h o w n in T a b l e 1. T h e calves v a r i e d in size o w i n g to differences i n b r e e d , sex, a n d b i r t h w e i g h t . T h e r e f o r e , all w e i g h t d a t a w e r e c o n v e r t e d to a c o m p a r a b l e basis b y c o n v e r t i n g t h e w e e k l y b o d y w e i g h t s of each calf i n t o a p e r c e n t a g e of o r i g i n a l b i r t h w e i g h t , t h e o r i g i n a l b i r t h weight b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d 100 f o r each c a l f r e g a r d l e s s of size. The g r o w t h d a t a in T a b l e 1 a r e p r e s e n t e d b y 4-week i n t e r v a l s to save space. T h e r e were no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t differences in size b e t w e e n c o n t r o l calves a n d those f e d a r s a n i l i e a c i d at a n y t i m e d u r i n g t h e 23-week p e r i o d of s t u d y . This c o n c l u s i o n is b a s e d on 23 t-tests a p p l i e d to w e e k l y differeuces b e t w e e n the size of calves f e d a r s a n i l i c a c i d a n d t h e i r p a i r e d controls. T h e f e e d i n t a k e s w e r e s t u d i e d f r o m b i r t h to 16 weeks, i n c l u s i v e , as t h i s p e r i o d was c o n s i d e r e d to be of sufficient d u r a t i o n to e v a l u a t e t h e effect of a r s a n i l i c acic] on feed c o n s u m p t i o n . A n a n a l y s i s of v a r i a n c e was m a d e of the b o d y w e i g h t g a i n a n d f e e d efficiency f o r t h i s p e r i o d ( T a b l e 2). The differences b e t w e e n c o n t r o l calves a n d those f e d a r s a n i l i c a c i d were small a n d not s t a t i s t i c a l l y significant. TABLE
2
Effect of arsanilic acid on body weight gailt and efficiency of gain of calves from birth to 16 .weel~s of ~.qe '~
Supplement
No. of e,~Ices
Arsanilic acid c None (Control)
9 9
Birth weight
Gain in wt.
TDN/Ib gain b
Digestible protein/lb ga in ~
(lb.)
(lb.)
(lb.)
(lb.)
76 73
119 114
2.91 3.04
0.66 0.69
None of these differences was statistically significant. b Calculated from lYlorrison's (7) tables. c 50 mg. daily by capsule.
EFFECTS OF ARSENICALS ON CALVES
991
S t u d y of the effects of the experimental t r e a t m e n t s on calf health showed that the nine control calves had a total of 16 digestive and r e s p i r a t o r y infections, five slight, two medium, and nine severe. The nine calves receiving arsanilic acid had ]5 infections, five slight, one medium, and nine severe. Thus, there was no a p p a r e n t difference between control calves and those fed arsanilie acid in incidence of disease. Also, there was no a p p a r e n t difference in physical condition between the two groups of calves. I n the environment of this experiment, neither beneficial nor deleterious effects resulted f r o m feeding 50 mg. of arsanilic acid daily per calf. SUMMARY
This experiment was initiated to s t u d y the effects of arsanilic acid on the growth and well-being of young d a i r y calves. Eighteen calves were divided into two groups, balanced for age and breed. Calves in one g r o u p received 50 rag. of arsanilic acid daily per calf, and those in the control group received no arsanilic acid. All calves were started on experiment at birth and continued until 23 weeks of age. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in regard to rate of weight gain or feed efficiency. Also, there was no a p p a r e n t difference between the two groups in incidence of disease or in physical appearante.
REFERE:NCES (1) ABBOTT, O. J., BIRD, H. I~., AND CRAVENS, W. W. E f f e c t s of D i e t a r y A r s a n i l i c Acid on Chicks. Poultry Sei., 33: 1245. 1954. (2) BARTLE¥, E. E., F~YER, H. C., AT'KESON, F. W., FOUNTAINE, F. C., AND RADISSON, J. J. A n t i b i o t i c s in D a i r y Cattle :Nutrition. V. C o m p a r a t i v e E f f e c t s of S t r e p t o m y c i n a n d A u r e o m y c i n on the Growth a n d W e l l - B e i n g of Y o u n g D a i r y Calves. J. Dairy Sei., 38: 1257. 1955. (3) DEWEY, R. J. T h e I n f l u e n c e of S o d i u m A r s a n i l a t e S u p p l e m e n t a t i o n on the Growth of Y o u n g D a i r y H e i f e r s . M.S. thesis, A. a n d M. College of Texas, College S t a t i o n . 1954. (4) FROST, D. V. C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the S a f e t y of A r s a n i l i c A c i d for U s e in P o u l t r y F e e d s . Poultry Sci., 32: 217. 1953. (5) GRAF, G. C., AND HOLDAWAY, C. W. T h e V a l u e of A r s e n i c A c i d D e r i v a t i v e s as a G r o w t h S t i m u l a n t w h e n F e d to Calves. ( A b s . ) J. Dairy Sci., 35: 492. 1952. (6) MILLIGAN, J. L., \VILCKE, H. L., .]~[ARR, J. E., AND BETttKE, R. ~V[. A r s e n i c Acid in Comm e r c i a l Broiler R a t i o n s . Poultry Sci., 34: 794. 1955. (7) MORRISON, F. B. Feeds and Feeding. 2 1 s t ed. • o r r i s o n P u b L Co., N e w York. 1948. (8) O~VEN, F. C., VOELKER, H. ~I., JACOBSEN, :N. L., AND ALLEN, I~. S. T h e C o m p a r a t i v e E f f e c t s of V a r i o u s A n t i b i o t i c s a n d a n A r s e n i c a l u p o n t h e Growth, H e a l t h , a n d C e r t a i n Blood C o n s t i t u e n t s of D a i r y Calves. J. Dairy Sci., 38: 891. 1955. ( 9 ) SC~END~L, H. E., AND JOHNSON, B. C. A S t u d y o f ' ~ G r o w t h S t i m u l a n t s " U s i n g t h e B a b y P i g . J. Animal Sci., 14"- 19. ]955.