EARLY LIFE STRESSORS AFFECT HEALTH OF DAIRY CALVES

This project will improve our understanding of mechanisms involved in early lifestressors and their impact on GIT health, inflammation status, and diarrhea. This will improvenutrition and management practices and enable development of practical intervention strategiesto reduce incidence of diarrhea and antibiotic use on dairy farms, which will ultimately improveanimal health, well-being, consumer expectation of reduced antimicrobial use and dairy farmprofitability.Hypothesis: Early life insults such as long-distance transportation (>300 miles), lack ofcolostrum feeding within the first 36 h of life, or abrupt weaning at an early age, negativelyimpact GIT health, local and systemic inflammation, and oxylipids profile. These compromisedresponses lead to greater occurrence and severity of diarrhea.Objectives:Objective 1 - Determine role of long transportation on GIT permeability, oxidative stress,inflammation, and oxylipids profile (neonatal stage)Objective 2 - Determine role of VFA and pH in inflammatory state and permeability inintestinal epithelial cells (pre-weaning)Objective 3 - Determine role of weaning method (abrupt vs. gradual) on local and systemicinflammation status, oxylipids profile, and animal health