Effect of biotin supplementation on milk yield of Girolando cows reared in a tropical climate

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production Vol. 51; no. 6; pp. 1661 - 1665
• Main Authors: Queiroz, P. J. B., Silva, D. C., Borges, P. A. C., Pedroso, A. C. B. R., Vinhal, A. P. A., Rabelo, R. E., Silva, L. A. F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.07.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotin; Biotin - administration & dosage; Biotin - pharmacology; Brazil; Cattle - physiology; Cow's milk; Dairy cattle; Diet; Diet - veterinary; Dietary Supplements; Efficiency; Female; Lactation; Lactation - drug effects; Life Sciences; Milk; Regular Articles; Reproduction - drug effects; Statistical analysis; Tropical Climate; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Weight; Zoology; Brazil; Pregnancy; Lactation; Cattle; B-complex; Production; Vitamin B7
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-019-01862-w

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of biotin supplementation on milk yield and the reproductive efficiency in Girolando cows. The study was conducted on a dairy farm located in central Brazil, between April 2012 and December 2016. Thirty-six Girolando cows in their first lactation were used. The cows were distributed in two treatment groups, each with equivalent weight distributions. Control treatment (CT) cows ( n  = 18) received a diet without any supplemental biotin, whereas biotin treatment (BT) cows ( n  = 18) received a diet supplemented with 20 mg/day of biotin during lactation. Biotin supplementation caused a significant increase ( p  = 0.001) in milk yield in the second lactation, and a trend ( p  = 0.09) toward higher average production during the three lactations was evaluated. There was no statistically significant difference between the treatments in terms of reproductive efficiency. In conclusion, biotin supplementation (20 mg/day) during lactation for Girolando cows reared in a tropical climate is able to increase milk yield, but does not improve reproductive efficiency.