Effect of Dry-Period Diet on the Performance and Metabolism of Dairy Cows in Early Lactation

• Main Authors: Julien Soulat, Emilie Knapp, Nassim Moula, Jean-Luc Hornick, Céline Purnelle, Isabelle Dufrasne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: Animals
• Subjects: dry period; fatty acids; milk yield; serum metabolites
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/5/803

The objective of this work was to observe the effect of three different dry-period diets on blood metabolites (<i>p</i> = 9) and the production and fatty acid (FA) profile of milk (<i>p</i> = 19) in the peripartum period. In this study, 32 Holstein dairy cows, during their dry period, were divided in 3 different diet groups, as follows: the CONC diet (n = 11) was based on concentrate meal and straw, the CORN diet (n = 11) was based on corn silage, and the MIXED diet (n = 10) was based on corn and grass silages. According to our results, the variations of C18:2n-6, C18:3n-3, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), NEFA/cholesterol ratio, and albumin were significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) different, according to the dry diet. The dry-period diet also had a significant effect on the concentrations of urea and vitamin B₁₂ in the blood. In early lactation, this work showed that blood metabolites were more sensitive to changes in the dry diet than the production and FA profile of milk.