The effects of grain type and dietary oil supplements on lactation performance, nutrient digestibility, feeding behavior, and blood metabolite of early Holstein cows

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the present experiment was to improve the quality of milk
by using a change in the type of grain source and oil supplement in the diet
Materials & Methods: for this purpose, from the number of 32 Holstein cows in
the third abdomen with an average lactation day of 60±15 and milk production of
36±5 kg as a 2×2 factorial experiment. It was used in the form of a completely
randomized design with 4 treatments and 8 replications. Experimental treatments
included 1- Diet containing grain Barley + 2% fish oil 2- Diet containing barley +
2% sunflower oil 3- Diet containing corn kernels + 2% Fish oil 4- Diet containing
corn kernels + 2% Sunflower oil The trial period was 45 days, the first 36 days for
habit. The susceptibility of cows to diets and the last 9 days were considered for
sample collection.
Results: The dry matter digestibility was significantly affected by grain and oil
source (P<0.05) and in fed cows Barley grain diets were higher than corn grain diets,
but among blood parameters, only triglyceride concentration was affected by the
interaction of grain and oil source (P<0.01) .The effect of grain source on ruminant
time The total chewing time was significant (P<0.05) and this time was longer for
cows receiving barley grains than corn grains, of which only milk fat percentage was
significantly affected by the source of dietary grain (P<0.05) And in cows fed barley
grain-based diets was lower than in corn grain-based diets.
Conclusion: Based on the results, sunflower oil can be a good alternative to fish oil
without a negative effect on production performance and milk quality.