Effects of short-term feed restriction on the physiological parameters and metabolites of F1 Holstein x Zebu cows in different stages of lactation

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different nutritional plans on the productive, physiological and metabolic parameters of F1 ½ Holstein x ½ Zebu cows in different stages of lactation. Sixty lactating cows were allotted to a completely randomized 5 x 3 factorial design with five feed allowances and three lactation periods. The dry matter intake, milk yield and heart rate were reduced by 5.69kg, 2.41kg and 10.36 beats/min (morning) and 10.25 beats/min (afternoon) for each 1% feed restriction, respectively. There was no difference in the concentration of glucose, total protein, albumin, cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acids for cows subjected to different feed allowances, with means of 95.25, 7.98, 2.95, 121.68 and 0.45mg/dL, respectively. Feed restriction of up to 2.50% BW is a cost reduction strategy that does not alter milk yield, regardless of the stage of lactation.

Economic viability of different diets for F1 Holstein x Zebu cows in milk production systems

“…Data evaluated here came from results of experiments evaluating the effect of feed restriction on productive, physiological and metabolic parameters of F1 Holstein x Zebu cows (Borges et al, 2020). And production cost data, generated from the database of the same herd and published by Martins et al (2018).…”

“…Studies evaluating feed efficiency of F1 Holstein x Zebu cows on different levels of diet supply have shown promising results, such as improvement in feed efficiency, and maintenance of milk yield, showing the productive potential of this breed composition, in the face of new feeding technologies (Monção et al, 2019;Santana et al, 2019;Borges et al, 2020;Da Hora et al, 2023). However, results of economic efficiency of diet supply restriction in F1 Holstein x Zebu cows are scarce in the literature.…”

Effect of protein supplementation on yield and milk composition of F1 Holstein x Zebu cows kept in deferred pasture of brachiaria grass

“…Cultivated pastures form the basis for milk production and, when well managed, are capable of sustaining satisfactory levels of milk production, especially at the most favorable times of the year (Teixeira et al, 2019;Santana et al, 2019;Borges et al, 2020). However, throughout the year, forage production fluctuates according to climatic conditions.…”

“…However, only good quality pasture is generally not enough to promote the full productive potential of highyielding cows, since it does not meet the entire requirement of the dairy animal, especially in terms of energy (Teixeira et al, 2019). In Brazil, about 80% of the total volume of milk is produced by crossbred Holstein/Zebu cows using tropical forages associated with concentrate supplementation strategies (Salgado et al, 2016;Borges et al, 2020). Crossbred cows reared under forage-based milk production systems are flexible in terms of milk production during the summer due to their adaptability and hardiness (Borges et al, 2020).…”

“…In Brazil, about 80% of the total volume of milk is produced by crossbred Holstein/Zebu cows using tropical forages associated with concentrate supplementation strategies (Salgado et al, 2016;Borges et al, 2020). Crossbred cows reared under forage-based milk production systems are flexible in terms of milk production during the summer due to their adaptability and hardiness (Borges et al, 2020). Therefore, it is necessary to adapt the diet through concentrated supplementation, which can favor the rate of degradation of the food and optimize the production of microbial protein.…”