Feedlot-receiving calves are typically exposed to a series of stressful events, such as weaning, transportation, commingling, a change of environment, and illness, that have a negative impact on feed intake. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of feed flavors on feed intake, indicators of stress, and markers of the immune response for newly received feedlot cattle. Under the conditions of this study, the addition of flavoring agents showed some effects on the feeding pattern of newly arrived feedlot cattle, compatible with a positive hedonic response to the treatments. These effects, however, were limited to specific periods of time during the experiment and were not present when considering their performance over the whole 56-d feeding period. Furthermore, the addition of flavoring agents did not have a consistent effect on the concentration of inflammatory mediators, biomarkers of stress, or immune function. Future research should explore whether these or other flavoring agents, at different doses or used at different times, could cause biologically relevant effects to improve the resilience of calves during the feedlot receiving period.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.