scholarly journals Feeding frequency for lactating cows: diurnal patterns of hormones and metabolites in peripheral blood in relation to milk-fat concentration

1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Sutton ◽  
I. C. Hart ◽  
S. V. Morant ◽  
E. Schuller ◽  
A. D. Simmonds

1. The present paper reports the effects of dietary modifications on the diurnal pattern of concentrations of certain metabolites and hormones in the peripheral blood of lactating dairy cows. The cows were given fixed rations of hay and high-cereal concentrates in the proportions of 30:70 or 10:90 (w/w). The concentrates were given in either two or six equal meals daily; the hay was given twice daily.2. Previous reports of the same experiment had shown that milk-fat yield and concentration were reduced by increasing the proportion of concentrates in the diet and increased by more frequent feeding of the concentrates. These changes could be explained in part by changes in rumen volatile fatty acid (VFA) proportions and mean daily concentrations of VFA, particularly propionic acid, and insulin in the peripheral blood, but these factors failed to explain all the increase in milk-fat concentration caused by more frequent feeding.3. Analysis of blood samples taken at hourly intervals for 24 h at two stages of lactation showed that, in the cows fed six times daily, the concentrations of metabolites and hormones remained relatively constant over the day. In the cows fed twice daily, the concentrations of VFA, 3-hydroxybutyric acid and insulin all increased after both meals whereas the concentrations of glucose and growth hormone tended to fall. The concentration of non-esterified fatty acids tended to increase overnight and fall rapidly after the morning feed. The concentrations of glucagon, thyroxine and prolactin showed no clear pattern in relation to meals. The postprandial responses of propionate, insulin and growth hormone were greater with the higher concentrate diet.4. The maximum concentration and the diurnal range of concentrations were reduced by more frequent feeding of both diets in the case of propionic acid and of the higher concentrate diet in the case of insulin, but the effects on insulin concentrations of more frequent feeding of the lower concentrate diet were smaller and not significant. The maximum concentration and the diurnal range of concentrations of growth hormone were unaffected by meal frequency.5. It is concluded that the severity of milk-fat depression in cows fed twice daily is increased by the rapid rise in propionic acid concentration in the peripheral blood after a meal, which in turn increases insulin secretion and may be accompanied by a suppression of growth hormone release. This causes lipogenesis to be diverted towards adipose tissue at the expense of the mammary gland. In cows fed more frequently, VFA absorption is more evenly spread over the day and is not closely associated with changes in insulin or growth hormone concentrations.

1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Sutton ◽  
I. C. Hart ◽  
W. H. Brosters ◽  
Rosemary J. Elliott ◽  
E. Schuller

1. The present paper reports the effects on rumen fermentation and plasma metabolites and hormones of giving fixed rations of hay and high-cereal concentrates at different meal frequencies to lactating cows. In Expt 1 the total ration was given in two and twenty-four meals daily and in Expts 2–4 the concentrates were given in two and five or six meals and the hay in two meals daily. The diets contained 600–920 g concentrates/kg.2. In Expt I, minimum rumen pH was higher but mean pH was lower when cows were given their ration in twenty-four meals/d rather than two meals/d.3. In all the experiments, the effects of increased meal frequency on the molar proportions of rumen volatile fatty acids (VFA) were small and not significant, although there was a general tendency for the proportion of acetic acid to increase and that of propionic acid to fall. Increasing the proportion of concentrates in the diet reduced the proportion of acetic acid and increased the proportions of propionic and n-valeric acids.4. In Expt 3, more frequent feeding was found to reduce the concentration of non-esterified fatty acids in the blood, but changes in other metabolites were small and not significant. Increasing the proportion of concentrates in the diet reduced the concentrations of acetic acid and 3-hydroxybutyric acid and increased the concentrations of propionic acid and glucose.5. The mean daily concentration of insulin in the blood was reduced by more frequent feeding of the higher-concentrate diet but not of the lower-concentrate diet. The concentration of glucagon also tended to fall with more frequent feeding. Increasing the proportion of concentrates in the diet increased the concentration of insulin.6. More frequent feeding reduced the depression in milk-fat concentration caused by feeding the low-roughage diets. About three-quarters of the variation in milk-fat concentration could be related to changes in rumen VFA proportions, but the relations for the two meal frequencies had different intercepts although similar curves. The results suggest that milk-fat depression on low-roughage diets with twice-daily feeding was due to a change in rumen VFA proportions accompanied by elevated plasma insulin concentrations. The improvement in milk-fat concentration due to more frequent feeding could be explained partly by the small change in rumen VFA proportions and partly by a reduction in mean plasma insulin concentrations, but these mechanisms did not fully account for the milk-fat responses observed.


1985 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Sutton ◽  
W. H. Broster ◽  
D. J. Napper ◽  
J. W. Siviter

1. The results are reported of four feeding experiments in which lactating cows were given fixed rations of hay and high-cereal concentrates at different meal frequencies. In Expt 1 the total ration was given in two and twenty-four meals daily and in Expts 2–4, the concentrates were given in two and five or six meals and the hay was given twice daily. The diets contained 600–900 g concentrate /kg.2. In all the experiments, more frequent feeding of these low-roughage diets reduced milk fat depression and increased milk fat yield. In each experiment the increase was greater with the diet containing the lower proportion of hay. There was no significant effect on milk yield, the protein or lactose contents of the milk or live-weight gain. Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and energy was increased in one of the experiments but not in two others in which it was measured.3. More frequent feeding was calculated to increase the net energy secreted in milk and there was a tendency for it to increase the net energy in live-weight gain with diets containing 600 or 700 g concentrate/kg but to decrease it with diets containing 800 or 900 g concentrate/kg. These results are discussed in relation to theories of energy partition in lactating cows.4. It is concluded that at fixed feed intakes, the main response to increased meal frequency is likely to be a reduction in milk fat depression and that this will be confined to diets containing not more than about 200 g modified acid-detergent fibre/kg dry matter.


1984 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 43-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Sutton

Decreasing the proportion of long forage in mixed diets from 400 to 100 g/kg at constant digestible energy intakes reduces milk fat content by approximately 5 g/kg for every 100 g/kg decrease in hay. This response varies widely and a safe minimum diet composition to maintain approximately 40 g fat/kg milk from Friesian cows in mid-lactation is approximately 450 g long forage/kg or 220 g acid-detergent fibre/kg dry matter. This, however, would reduce milk yields. With barley-based concentrates, milk yield increases as the proportion of hay in the diet is reduced, with the result that the reduction in the yield of fat is less than the fall in its concentration. Milk fat content is higher when ground maize, which is a slowly fermented starch source, or fodder beet or fibrous by-products replace rapidly fermented starch sources such as barley in low-roughage diets. Milk yield, however, is lower. Supplementary fats and oils generally increase milk yield but their effects on milk fat content and yield vary widely.Increasing the intake of high-concentrate diets of fixed composition increases the yield of milk but reduces its fat content. Increasing the number of meals per 24 h reduces this milk fat depression without affecting milk yield. Thus, advice on milk fat production must take account of the level of intake, the pattern of feeding and the diet composition.In most situations, the avoidance of low milk fat content requires control of rumen fermentation to prevent high proportions of propionic acid. However, with frequent feeding during the 24 h, high propionic acid in the rumen has less effect on milk fat. It appears that high plasma insulin concentration is the main factor reducing milk fat production.The release of insulin is stimulated by the peaks of propionate, which are produced after large meals of concentrates but not by the steady supply of propionate associated with frequent feeding.Available knowledge can permit wide variation in milk fat production by dietary manipulation with reasonable accuracy but the future aim should be for more direct intervention at metabolic control points.


2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (suppl spe) ◽  
pp. 478-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldo Tadeu dos Santos ◽  
Daniele Cristina da Silva-Kazama ◽  
Ricardo Kazama ◽  
Helene V. Petit

Scientific advances in nutrition of dairy cows in the first decade of the XXI century have occurred. This paper will review the most common additives fed to transition cows to decrease the incidence of metabolic disorders, which will be discussed separately with emphasis on their mechanisms of action, utilization and efficiency. Some changes on protein in the 2001 updated version of the Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle to reach better precision of the nitrogen and amino acid requirements of lactating cows also are presented. Many of the advances in nutritional manipulation of milk fat concentration are related to fat supplementation, then the relationship between the action of rumen microbes on biohydrogenation of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and milk fatty acid profile are discussed as well as the main factors identified as being responsible for milk fat depression.


1979 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. FISHER

Thirty-six lactating cows, after their first week on spring pasture, were subdivided into three groups of 12 cows each and assigned to one of three pelleted grain mixtures containing 0, 5 or 10% protected lipid. These grain mixtures were fed in the milking parlor at the rate of 1.0 kg/4.0 kg of milk yield for a period of 14 days and then the cows were switched to the next ration in the sequence. Milk yield and grain intake were recorded daily. Milk samples for fat, protein and lactose determinations were taken during the last week of the drylot feeding period, during the preliminary pasture period and on the last 2 days of each experimental period. The change in feeding system from drylot to pasture resulted in an average decrease of 0.65 and 0.10 percentage units in milk fat and lactose contents, respectively, and an increase of 0.27 of a percentage unit in protein content. Refusals of the grain mixture were greater (P < 0.05) but milk yields per kilogram of grain intake were higher (P < 0.05) for grain mixtures containing 10% protected lipid than for the control ration. Protected lipid was not effective in countering the milk fat depression caused by the onset of the spring grazing season. The feeding of protected lipid at the rate of 5 and 10% resulted in only a 10 and 27% recovery in total fat yield compared to cows fed the control ration.


2009 ◽  
Vol 92 (9) ◽  
pp. 4290-4300 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Thering ◽  
D.E. Graugnard ◽  
P. Piantoni ◽  
J.J. Loor

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 364-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ventto ◽  
Heidi Leskinen ◽  
Piia Kairenius ◽  
Tomasz Stefański ◽  
Ali R. Bayat ◽  
...  

AbstractThe biohydrogenation theory of milk fat depression (MFD) attributes decreases in milk fat in cows to the formation of specific fatty acids (FA) in the rumen.Trans-10,cis-12-CLA is the only biohydrogenation intermediate known to inhibit milk fat synthesis, but it is uncertain if increased ruminal synthesis is the sole explanation of MFD. Four lactating cows were used in a 4×4 Latin square with a 2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments and 35-d experimental periods to evaluate the effect of diets formulated to cause differences in ruminal lipid metabolism and milk fat synthesis on the flow of FA and dimethyl acetal at the omasum. Treatments comprised total mixed rations based on grass silage with a forage:concentrate ratio of 35:65 or 65:35 containing 0 or 50 g/kg sunflower oil (SO). Supplementing the high-concentrate diet with SO lowered milk fat synthesis from −20·2 to −31·9 % relative to other treatments. Decreases in milk fat were accompanied by alterations in ruminal biohydrogenation favouring thetrans-10 pathway and an increase in the formation of specific intermediates includingtrans-4 totrans-10-18 : 1,trans-8,trans-10-CLA,trans-9,cis-11-CLA andtrans-10,cis-15-18 : 2. Flow oftrans-10,cis-12-CLA at the omasum was greater on high- than low-concentrate diets but unaffected by SO. In conclusion, ruminaltrans-10,cis-12-CLA formation was not increased on a diet causing MFD suggesting that other biohydrogenation intermediates or additional mechanisms contribute to the regulation of fat synthesis in the bovine mammary gland.


1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 521-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELLIOT BLOCK ◽  
L. D. MULLER

Feeding 0.23 kg of sodium bicarbonate plus 0.07 kg of magnesium oxide per day to cows with a milk fat depression tended to reduce dry matter intake temporarily. Milk production declined by 1.2 kg/day, milk fat increased by 0.43%, and rumen fluid pH increased as a result of buffer additions. There was also a trend toward higher blood alkaline indices. Key words: Buffers, lactating cows, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium oxide, milk fat depression


2019 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 5148-5160 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Leskinen ◽  
L. Ventto ◽  
P. Kairenius ◽  
K.J. Shingfield ◽  
J. Vilkki

Author(s):  
S. Sukhanova ◽  
N. Pozdnyakova ◽  
F. Yaroslavtsev

The results of researches on the development of new mineral feed additives based on raw materials produced by Uralchem and the study of the eff ectiveness of their use in the rations of lactating cows have been presented in the article. The experiment has been carried out in the conditions of LLC “PF Barabinskoe” in the Dalmatovsky area in the Kurgan region where 3 groups of lactating cows of Black-and-White breed have been formed. Animals in the control group have been received the ration adopted in the farm, the 1st experimental group with the additive RusMA No. 1 at a dose of 150 g, the 2nd experimental group– with the additive RusMA No. 2 at the dose of 350 g. The use of experimental mineral additives in feeding lactating cows allowed us to increase their milk productivity and profi tability of production. At the same time, the best eff ectiveness was shown by the additive RusMA No. 2 at the dose of 350 g/head/day. The use of RusMA additives during the experiment period (105 days) allowed to increase the milk productivity of cows in the 1st experimental group by 6,03 % and in the 2nd experimental group by 8,24 %. Taking into account the fat content in milk, this diff erence was 6,31 and 8,53 %, respectively. The energy value of milk from cows of the experimental groups was higher compared to the control group by 2,45 and 1,76 %, respectively. According to the content of dry matter in milk, cows of the 2nd experimental group exceeded the control and 1st experimental group by 0,39 and 0,12 abs.%, respectively. The maximum milk fat content has been observed in the milk of cows of the 1st experimental group by 0,03 and 0,01 abs.% more than in the control and 2nd experimental groups, respectively. In terms of protein content, the cows of the 2nd experimental group signifi cantly exceeded the control group by 0,10 abs.% and the 1st experimental by 0,04 abs.%. The content of milk sugar in the 2nd experimental group was higher than in the control by 0,30 abs.% and compared to the 1st experimental by 0,11 %. Signifi cantly more calcium and phosphorus were contained in the milk of cows of the 2nd experimental group by 4,58 % (Р ≤ 0,001) and 2,86 % (Р ≤ 0,05), compared with the control group. The expenditures of feed in the EFU for the production of 1 kg of milk in animals of the 2nd experimental group was less by 5,13 % than in control cows and by 2,63 % compared to the 1st experimental group. The prime cost of 1 centner of milk was lower in the 2nd experimental group by 3,94 %, in the 1st experimental group by 2,65 % compared to the control group. The level of profi tability of milk production in the 2nd experimental group was higher by 9,0 and 1,0 abs.% in comparison with the control and 1st experimental groups, respectively.


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