Effects of fermented corn gluten meal on growth performance, plasma metabolites, rumen fermentation and bacterial community of Holstein calves during the pre-weaning period

Abstract The effects of fermented corn gluten meal (FCGM) on growth performance, plasma metabolites, rumen fermentation and bacterial community of Holstein calves during the pre-weaning phase were investigated in this study. Twenty Holstein calves (mean ± SEM; age = 6.89 ± 1.32 d) were offered milk replacer and then assigned to the experiment after 1 wk of adaptation. Calves (mean ± SEM; body weight = 49.3 ± 3.12 kg; age = 13.9 ± 1.32 d) were blocked for BW and age and subsequently randomly assigned to receive calf starter containing 5% corn gluten meal (CGM) or 5% FCGM (dry matter basis). The experiment lasted 6 weeks. Fermented corn gluten meal contained a lower (P