The effect of vitamin E, selenium, and copper supplementation preweaning on the performance and immune response of beef calves

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of vitamin E, selenium, and copper supplementation on the pre- and postweaning performance, immune responses, and serum metabolites o f crossbred beef calves. In experiment 1, 71 calves were blocked by weight and allotted to one of four individually fed treatments: 1) control supplement (2 lb grain creep ) (CS), 2) CS + .27 mg selenium + 500 IU vitamin E, 3) CS + 9.1 mg copper, and 4) combination of treatments 2 and 3. In experiment 2, 80 crossbred beef calves were blocked by weight and allotted to 5 individually fed treatments: 1) control supplement (2 lb grain creep) (CS), 2) CS + .27 mg selenium, 3) CS + .27 mg selenium + 500 IU vitamin E, 4) CS + .27 mg selenium + 1000 IU vitamin E, and 5) CS + .27mg selenium + 1500 IU vitamin E. Supplements were fed daily on an individual basis. In experiment 1, vitamin E supplementation reduced plasma haptoglobin levels by the end of the study and tended (P=.11) to improve postweaning gain. However, no other effect was noted on calf performance or immune parameters in either experiment.