Blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations and early lactation management strategies on pasture-based dairy farms in Colombia

Publication date: Available online 20 November 2019Source: Preventive Veterinary MedicineAuthor(s): Francisco A. Leal Yepes, Sabine Mann, Elizabeth M. Martens, Juan Velasco-Bolaños, Alejandro Ceballos-Marquez, Sergio Puerto, Miguel I. Gómez, Jessica A.A. McArtAbstractThe increasing global demand for food requires sustainable solutions to close the gap in agricultural yield between industrialized and non-industrialized countries. Our objectives in this cross-sectional study were to: 1) characterize farm populations, milk yield, and early lactation management strategies of dairy cows in three different regions of Colombia, and 2) determine the association of these management strategies with blood β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentrations in the first 42 days in milk (DIM). Dairy herds (n = 56) in the Antioquia, Caldas, and Cundinamarca regions of Colombia were visited once from May through July 2018. A survey was administered to farm owners to collect demographic, management, and herd nutrition information. Blood samples from dairy cows (n = 880) between calving and 42 DIM were used to measure blood BHB concentration. Associations between management and nutritional strategies and blood BHB concentration were examined using mixed models. Prevalence of hyperketonemia was calculated as the number of samples with BHB concentration ≥1.2 mmol/L divided by the total number of samples. The estimated diet composition for early lactation dairy cows was 65.5% pasture and 31.8%...
Source: Preventive Veterinary Medicine - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research