Iron-deficiency anaemia in calves

Abstract

1. Iron-deficiency anaemia was produced in four calves under laboratory conditions on a milk diet supplemented with magnesium, copper and tocopherol. Two calves acted as controls, and received daily a supplement of 20 mg Fe as the citrate. 2. The anaemia was microcytic and normochromic and was associated with poikilocytosis and a normoblastic reaction of the bone marrow. Clinically, the anaemic calves showed poor gains of weight, an inability to withstand circulatory strain, atrophy of the papillas of the tongue and loss of appetite. The anaemia responded to Fe administration in the one calf to which the treatment was given. 3. A field experiment involving fifteen farms and forty-six pairs of suckling beef calves showed that daily dosage with 35 mg of Fe as the succinate resulted in a significant increase in the haemoglobin content of the blood and an increase in the mean cell volume. 4. It was shown that on different farms there exist different haemoglobin contents in the blood of calves and that calves with low haemoglobin concentrations usually have smaller mean cell volumes. It is shown that this ‘physiological anaemia’ is of the same type as Fe-deficiency anaemia. 5. Evidence is presented to show that a supplement of 20 mg Fe daily is not sufficient for a calf aged 1–4 months receiving milk as the sole diet, and it is suggested that the requirement is nearer 100 mg daily. The daily iron intake in milk is usually 2–4 mg. © 1957, The Nutrition Society. All rights reserved.