Concentrate supplementation of a diet based on medium-quality grass silage for 4 weeks prepartum: Effects on cow performance, health, metabolic status, and immune function

• Published in: Journal of dairy science Vol. 100; no. 6; pp. 4457 - 4474
• Main Authors: Little, M.W., O'Connell, N.E., Welsh, M.D., Mulligan, F.J., Ferris, C.P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.06.2017
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animals; Cattle; dairy cow; Diet; Energy Intake; Energy Metabolism; Female; immunity; Lactation - physiology; metabolic status; Milk; Neutrophils - physiology; Parity; Poaceae; Postpartum Period; Pregnancy; Silage; Time Factors; transition period; transition period; dairy cow; immunity; metabolic status

Because negative energy balance (EB) contributes to transition-period immune dysfunction in dairy cows, dietary management strategies should aim to minimize negative EB during this time. Prepartum diets that oversupply energy may exacerbate negative EB in early lactation, with detrimental effects on...