Effect of different concentrations of dietary safflower seed on milk yield and some rumen and blood parameters at the end stage of lactation in dairy cows

Abstract

-In this study, the effects of different concentrations of dietary safflower seeds (SS) were examined for milk production, milk fat and some rumen and blood parameters at the end stage of lactation in dairy cows. Four Holstein cows were assigned to a 4 × 4 Latin Square design with four stages. All stages had 14 d of adaptation and 7 d of data collection periods. The diets were formulated as isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. Cows were fed four concentrate mixtures containing 0% (Control; C), 12.5% (S-I), 25% (S-II), or 37.5% (S-III) crushed SS during the experimental period. Safflower seed intake was distributed as 0 (C), 1 (S-I), 2 (S-II) and 3 (S-III) kg/d/cow. Cows were fed 8 kg concentrate, 2 kg wheat straw, and corn silage ad libitum (approximately 20 kg). Diet S-III caused a decrease in efficiency of milk production and diet S-II provided a much further efficiency in milk production (C = 13.39±0.23, S-I = 12.94±0.26, S-II = 13.46±0.24 and S-III = 11.83±0.52 kg). Diets had no significant effect on milk fat (C = 3.99±0.18, S-I = 4.09 ± 0.16, S-II = 3.87±0.35 and S-III = 3.75±0.30%). There was no difference in rumen fluid and blood parameters. Short-time feeding of up to 2 kg/d safflower seed had no negative effects on milk yield, milk fat, and some serum parameters, but 3 kg/d safflower seed reduced milk production. Safflower seed can be safely fed at up to two kilograms daily at the end stage of lactation in dairy cows.

Supplementing Dairy Ewes Grazing Low Quality Pastures with Plant-Derived and Rumen-Protected Oils Containing Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Pellets Increases Body Condition Score and Milk, Fat, and Protein Yields

“…Similarly, variable responses and changes in milk components were observed when the diets of lactating goats or cows were supplemented with safflower. Some results portrayed negative effects [23,34,64], which align with our results, while others did not observe any significant effects [59,61,62,63]. The wide range of inclusion rates and variation in dietary components in these studies might have led to the variable responses reported.…”

“…This supports the findings of Ahmadpour et al [61], who supplemented dairy cows with rolled safflower seed at 3% and 6% and reported increases in milk yield by 2% and 9%, respectively. Other studies have, however, reported no significant effects on milk yield when the diets of lactating cows [23,59,62,63] and goats [64] were supplemented with safflower oil or seed. Similarly, variable responses and changes in milk components were observed when the diets of lactating goats or cows were supplemented with safflower.…”

Supplementing Dairy Ewes Grazing Low Quality Pastures with Plant-Derived Oils and Rumen-Protected EPA+DHA Pellets Improves Lactation Traits and Body Condition Score

“…Similarly, variable responses and changes in milk components had been observed when the diets of lactating does or cows were supplemented with safflower. Some results portrayed negative effects [23,33,62] which align with our results, while others did not observe any significant effects [57,[59][60][61]. The wide range of inclusion rates and variation in dietary components in these studies might have led to the variable responses reported.…”

“…and 6% and reported increases in milk yield by 2 and 9% respectively. Other studies have, however, reported no significant effects on milk yield when the diets of lactating cows [23,57,60,61] and goats [62] were supplemented with safflower oil or seed. Similarly, variable responses and changes in milk components had been observed when the diets of lactating does or cows were supplemented with safflower.…”

Nutritional value of safflower whole seed as animal feed in semi-arid southern African conditions

“…Results of the present study showed that whole seed ADF ranged between 39.7 -48.0% depending on safflower genotype and growing season ( Table 2). The results implythat safflower whole seeds were less digestible, contradicting findings of several workers (Godfrey, 2006;Malakian et al, 2011;Oguz et al,. 2014), who reported that safflower whole seeds contained less than 35% ADF.…”