Dietary Oligosaccharides Alter Blood and Fecal Metabolites in Holstein Dairy Calves

Neonatal and weaning periods are the most challenging phases for enteric infections in dairy calves. While different approaches are used to minimize calf health issues, the neonatal diet remains the core approach to enhance pre- and post-weaning animal health and performance. This pilot study aimed to evaluate blood biomarkers of inflammation and fecal metabolites in calves supplemented with oligosaccharide mixture (OS) during the preweaning stage. Sixteen newborn Holstein dairy calves (eight females and eight males) were randomly assigned into two groups: control with no supplementation, or treatment with 50 g/day of OS added to the pasteurized waste milk feeding. Both control and OS-treated calves were fed pasteurized waste milk during the preweaning period and weaned at seven weeks of age. Blood and fecal samples were collected weekly. Fecal fatty acid metabolites were downregulated in treated calves compared to control calves (p ≤ 0.05). Markers of inflammation (i.e., haptoglobin) or liver response (i.e., albumin, paraoxonase) did not differ between groups (p > 0.05). Overall, these findings suggest that dietary intervention with oligosaccharides can affect host metabolic pathways.