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

Abstract

The objective of this work was to observe the effect of three different dry-period diets on blood metabolites (p = 9) and the production and fatty acid (FA) profile of milk (p = 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 (p < 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.