The British journal of nutrition
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Two experiments of Latin square design were made, each with four Friesian bull calves fitted with re-entrant duodenal and ileal cannulas at 4-10 d of age. The calves were used to study the effect of giving milk-substitutes containing 0, 300, 500 and 700 g bacterial protein (Pruteen)/kg total protein on apparent digestibility of nitrogen fractions and amino acids and true digestibility of 3H-labelled milk protein and 35S-labelled bacterial protein in the small intestine. A third experiment of Latin square design with four intact Friesian calves was used to measure apparent digestibility of nutrients throughout the alimentary tract and retention of N, calcium and phosphorus. ⋯ True digestibility in the small intestine and between mouth and ileum of 3H-labelled milk protein was high and did not differ between dietary treatments. True digestibility of 35S-labelled Pruteen was low for the milk-protein diet and tended to increase linearly as more dietary Pruteen was included. Dry matter concentration in faeces and a high apparent digestibility throughout the whole alimentary tract of carbohydrates did not differ between treatments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)