Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T18:05:11.406Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of dietary energy content on the response of dairy cows to body condition at calving

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

G. P. Jones  and
P. C. Garnsworthy
G. P. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD
P. C. Garnsworthy
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD
Get access

Abstract

Four groups of six cows were fed from 12 weeks before calving to achieve condition scores at calving of 3·23 (F) and 1·98 (T). For the first 20 weeks of lactation all cows were given 10 kg/day of isonitrogenous (180 g crude protein per kg dry matter (DM)) compounds containing either a high (13·0 MJ/kg DM; HE) or a low (9·8 MJ/kg DM; LE) concentration of metabolizable energy, together with 3 kg/day molassed sugar-beet pulp and hay offered ad libitum.

The mean milk yield of cows receiving compound HE (27·7 kg/day) was higher (P > 0·05) than that of cows receiving compound LE (25·6 kg/day). Cows in group FHE yielded 27·0 kg/day, compared with 25·5 kg/day for FLE (P > 0·05); cows in group THE yielded 28·4 kg/day compared with 25·17 kg/day for TLE (P <0·05). After peak lactation, milk yields were maintained better in group THE but declined at a faster rate in group TLE than in groups FHE and FLE. Neither dietary energy concentration nor condition score at calving significantly affected milk composition (butterfat 43·5, protein 29·1, lactose 50·2 g/kg). Cows receiving compound HE consumed significantly (P < 0·001) more energy (208 MJ/day) than cows receiving compound LE (188 MJ/day). Over the first 10 weeks of lactation, changes in condition were –0·83, –0·88 +0·08 and –0·25 (s.e.d. 0·22, P < 0·05) condition score units for cows in groups FHE, FLE, THE and TLE respectively.

It is concluded that with diets of high energy concentration intake is mainly limited by physiological mechanisms so that thin cows eat more than fat cows and produce similar amounts of milk. With diets of lower energy concentration, intake is limited by rumen capacity and thin cows eat the same as fat cows. This results in increased fat mobilization and a slight decrease in milk yield by cows which are fat at calving but the limited fat reserves of cows which are thin at calving are insufficient to compensate for reduced energy intake so large reductions in milk yield are observed.

Type
Papers
Information
Animal Production , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , October 1989 , pp. 183 - 191
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Agricultural Research Council. 1984. The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Supplement No. 1. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Garnsworthy, P. C. 1988. The effect of energy reserves at calving on performance of dairy cows. In Nutrition and Lactation in the Dairy Cow (ed. Garnsworthy, P. C.), pp. 157–170. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Garnsworthy, P. C. and Jones, G. P. 1987. The influence of body condition at calving and dietary protein supply on voluntary food intake and performance in dairy cows. Animal Production 44: 347–353.Google Scholar
Garnsworthy, P. C. and Topps, J. H. 1982. The effect of body condition of dairy cows at calving on their food intake and performance when given complete diets. Animal Production 35: 113–119.Google Scholar
Gutmann, I. and Bergmeyer, H. U. 1974. Urea. In Methods of Enzymatic Analysis. 2nd English ed. (Translated from 3rd German ed.), p. 791. Verlag Chemie Weinheim and Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Jones, G. P. and Garnsworthy, P. C. 1988. The effects of body condition at calving and dietary protein content on dry-matter intake and performance in lactating dairy cows given diets of low energy content. Animal Production 47: 321–333.Google Scholar
Lawes Agricultural Trust. 1984. Genstat V. Mark 4.04B. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden.Google Scholar
Lowman, B. G., Scott, N. and Somerville, S. 1973. Condition scoring of cattle. Bulletin, East of Scotland College of Agriculture, No. 6.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. 1984. Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Reference Book 433. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Neilson, D. R., Whittemore, C. T., Lewis, M., Alliston, J. C., Roberts, D. J., Hodgson-Jones, L. S., Mills, J., Parkinson, H. and Prescott, J. H. D. 1983. Production characteristics of highyielding dairy cows. Animal Production 36: 321–334.Google Scholar
Oldham, J. D. and Emmans, G. C. 1988. Prediction of responses to protein and energy yielding nutrients. In Nutrition and Lactation in the Dairy Cow (ed. Garnsworthy, P. C.), pp. 76–96. Butterworths, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ørskov, E. R. and McDonald, I. 1979. The estimation of protein degradability in the rumen from incubation measurements weighted according to rate of passage. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 92: 499–503.Google Scholar
Reid, I. M., Roberts, C. J., Treacher, R. J. and Williams, L. A. 1986. Effect of body condition at calving on tissue mobilization, development of fatty liver and blood chemistry of dairy cows. Animal Production 43: 7–15.Google Scholar
Sutton, J. D. and Morant, S. V. 1987. The effects of nutrition on milk fat and protein. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Meeting of European Association of Animal Production, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 652–653.Google Scholar
Swan, A. A. 1979. Hormone-metabolite relationships in lactating diary cows. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Nottingham.Google Scholar
United Kingdom Agricultural Supply Trade Association, Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and Council of Scottish Agricultural Colleges. 1985. Prediction of energy values of compound feed. The Report of an UKASTA/ADAS/COSAC Working Party. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, London.Google Scholar
Werner, W., Rey, H. G. and Weilinger, H. 1970. On the properties of a new chromagen for the determination of glucose in blood according to the GOD/POD-Method. Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie 252: 224–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar