Vet Med - Czech, 2009, 54(9):407-411 | DOI: 10.17221/72/2009-VETMED

The effects of partial replacement of corn silage on biochemical blood parameters in lactating primiparous dairy cows

U. Polat, H. Gencoglu, I.I. Turkmen
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Uludag, Turkey

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of partial replacement of corn silage with long alfalfa hay and/or coarse chopped wheat straw on biochemical parameters in late lactating Holstein primiparous dairy cows. Twelve late lactating Holstein primiparous cows including four cows equipped with a rumen cannula, averaging 210 ± 20 days in milk and weighing 575 ± 50 kg were randomly assigned in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. During each of four 21-days periods, cows were fed four total mixed diets that were varied in the forage sources: (1) 50% corn silage (CS), (2) 35% corn silage + 15% wheat straw (CSW), (3) 35% corn silage + 15% alfalfa hay (CSA), (4) 25% corn silage + 10% wheat straw + 15% alfalfa hay (CSWA). At the end of the feeding period, blood samples were taken from jugular vein. Serum glucose, total protein, albumin/globulin, creatinine, creatinin kinase, urea and uric acid levels were determined by using Auto Technicon DAX 72 autoanalyzer. While serum glucose, albumin, globulin, urea, uric acid and creatinine kinase activity were not found significantly different among groups, serum total protein (between CS and CSA, CS and CSWA) and creatinine (between CSA and CSWA) levels had statistical significance at the levels of P < 0.05. It is concluded that rumen propionate and ammonia levels may be good indicator for glucose and BUN, respectively.

Keywords: forage sources; corn silage; blood; cows

Published: September 30, 2009  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Polat U, Gencoglu H, Turkmen II. The effects of partial replacement of corn silage on biochemical blood parameters in lactating primiparous dairy cows. Vet Med - Czech. 2009;54(9):407-411. doi: 10.17221/72/2009-VETMED.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. AOAC (1990): Official Methods of Analysis. 15th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington, VA.
    2. Bal M.A., Shaver R.D., Jirovec A.G., Shinners K.J., Coors J.G. (2000): Crop processing and chop length of corn silage: Effects on intake, digestion, and milk production by dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 83, 1264- 1273. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    3. Beauchemin K.A., Buchanan-Smith J.G. (1990): Effects of fiber source and method of feeding on chewing activities, digestive function and productivity of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 73, 749-762. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    4. Beauchemin K.A., Yang W.Z., Rod L.M. (2003): Effects of particle size of alfalfa-based dairy cow diets on chewing activity, ruminal fermentation, and milk production. Journal of Dairy Science, 86, 630-643. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. DePeters E.J., Ferguson J.D. (1992): Nonprotein nitrogen and protein distribution in the milk of cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 75, 3192. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. Ford E.J.H. (1965): The importance of glucose in ruminant metabolism. p. 21. In: Blaxter K.L. (ed.): Energy Metabolism. Academic Press, New York.
    7. Gencoglu H., Turkmen I.I. (2006): Effects of forage source on chewing and Rumen fermentation in lactating dairy cows. Revue de Medecine Veterinaire, 157, 463-470.
    8. Hammond A.C., Kunkle W.E., Genho P.C., Moore S.A., Crosby C.E., Ramsay K.H. (1994): Use of blood urea nitrogen concentration to determine time and level of protein supplementation in wintering cows. Professional Animal Scientist Journal, 10, 24-31. Go to original source...
    9. Karagul H., Altintas A., Fidanci U.R., Sel T. (1999): Basic Biochemistry Applications. Medisan Yayin Serisi, 38, Ankara, Turkey.
    10. Mert N. (1996): Veterinary Clinic Biochemistry. Ceylan Press, Bursa, Turkey. 280-288.
    11. Michael S.A. (1997): Relationship between fermentation acid production in the rumen and the requirement for physically effective fiber. Journal of Dairy Science, 80, 1447-1462. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    12. NRC (National Research Council) (2001): Nutrients requirements of dairy cattle. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
    13. Neylon J.M., Kung L.J.R. (2003): Effects of cutting height and maturity on the nutritive value of corn silage for lactating cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 86, 2163- 2169. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    14. Van Soest P.J., Robertson J.B., Lewis B.A. (1991): Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science, 74, 3583-3597. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    15. Wiltrout D.W., Satter L.D. (1971): Contribution of propionate to glucose synthesis in the lactating and nonlactating cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 55, 307-317. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content