Production and Health of Cows Given Monensin Prepartum and a High-Energy Diet Postpartum

Abstract

The object of this study was to evaluate the impact of monensin administration on the early lactation performance of cows maintained on a high-energy diet, and on health traits during the transition period. Cows (n = 168; parity 3.3 +/- 1.4, initial body condition score 3.1 +/- 0.08, and milk yield of 34.3 kg/d +/- 0.9 for multiparous cows in the preceding lactation) were divided into control and monensin treatment groups. A controlled-release capsule supplying 335 mg of monensin/d for 95 d was inserted into the rumen of monensin-treated cows 30 d before the expected calving. Blood samples were obtained 2 h after feeding on d 14 prepartum and on d 7, 14, and 50 postpartum. Plasma glucose concentration was 3% higher (58 +/- 0.5 vs. 56.4 +/- 0.5 mg/dL) and beta-hydroxybutyric acid was 17% (6.7 +/- 0.3 vs. 8.0 +/- 0.3 mg/dL) lower in monensin-treated than control cows. Plasma glucose was 10% higher (60.0 +/- 0.6 vs. 54.5 +/- 0.3 mg/dL) and beta-hydroxybutyric acid was 16% lower (6.8 +/- 0.3 vs. 7.9 +/- 0.2 mg/dL) in primiparous than multiparous cows. Plasma nonesterified fatty acid concentration (measured only in primiparous cows) was 17% lower (287 +/- 15 vs. 336 +/- 17 muEq/L) in treated than in control cows. Rate of ketosis incidence was 60% lower (8 vs. 21%) in monensin-treated than in control cows, and the proportion of control cows that required a supply of glucogenic precursors was 3-fold higher than in monensin-treated cows. The body condition score was 3.1 +/- 0.05, 2.7 +/- 0.05, and 2.4 +/- 0.05 on d 60 prepartum and d 7 and 50 postpartum, respectively, and was not affected by treatment. During the first 5 mo of lactation, milk yield was 7% higher (37.6 +/- 0.6 vs. 35.2 +/- 0.6 kg/d) in monensin-treated cows than in control cows. Our results showed that monensin administration, as a controlled-release capsule in prepartum cows, can be beneficial, even if these cows are maintained on a high-energy diet during the subsequent lactation.

Metabolism of early-lactation dairy cows as affected by dietary starch and monensin supplementation

“…In the current study, the concurrent observations of increased plasma glucose and insulin concentrations for cows fed HS would indicate a decreased need for HS cows to mobilize adipose tissue compared with cows fed LS. Monensin treatment has also been shown to decrease circulating NEFA (Arieli et al, 2008;Duffield et al, 2008b), although, in the current study, we detected no effect of MON treatment on plasma NEFA concentration. We did observe that cows fed MON had lower BHBA, likely from increased DMI (McCarthy et al, 2015), increased gluconeogenic capacity, and decreased ketogenesis with MON treatment.…”

“…In the current study, because the cows fed MON continued with their topdress treatment for the duration of the study, they maintained higher plasma glucose compared with CON cows for the duration of the study, likely a result of increased propionate supply available to the liver. In the meta-analysis of Duffield et al (2008b), monensin treatment resulted in a 3.2% increase in plasma glucose concentration, and Arieli et al (2008) similarly observed that cows treated with monensin had increased plasma glucose in the early postpartum period. Together, these data suggest that feeding more propiogenic diets (with increased starch content or monensin inclusion) increases plasma glucose concentrations.…”

“…Melendez et al (2004) similarly observed greater reductions in plasma BHBA in primiparous cows administered a prepartum controlled-release capsule of monensin; however, milk and intake data were not reported. Arieli et al (2008) studied primiparous cows and observed faster increases in early lactation milk in both monensin treated primiand multiparous cows; however, they did not report monensin × parity interactions for plasma metabolites. Arieli et al (2008) also noted that the cases of clinical ketosis treatment were lower in monensin-treated cows compared to controls (8 vs. 21%).…”

“…Arieli et al (2008) studied primiparous cows and observed faster increases in early lactation milk in both monensin treated primiand multiparous cows; however, they did not report monensin × parity interactions for plasma metabolites. Arieli et al (2008) also noted that the cases of clinical ketosis treatment were lower in monensin-treated cows compared to controls (8 vs. 21%). In the current study, cows fed HS tended to have less subclinical ketosis than cows fed LS and cows fed MON had less subclinical ketosis and also had fewer clinical cases of ketosis, likely from increased propionate supply to the liver.…”

“…It has been observed that cows fed higher-energy diets postpartum (Andersen et al, 2002(Andersen et al, , 2004Rabelo et al, 2005) and monensin during the peripartal period (Arieli et al, 2008;Duffield et al, 2008a) have improvements in postpartum energy metabolism.…”