Periconceptional heat stress is known to reduce the likelihood of establishing pregnancy; however, some conceptuses will survive. Of the pregnancies that continue to term, a proportion will be heifers which are retained as replacement animals. Alterations that occur as a result of exposure to thermal stress during such critical stages in development likely result in differential performance between the heat stress-conceieved (HSC) cows and thermoneutral-conceived (TNC) cows. National Dairy Herd Improvement Association data was obtained from Dairy Records Management Systems. Records (n =14,189,891) included cows born between 1977 and 2010 in FL, GA, SC, MS, LA, AL, and TX. Records were edited to include only Holsteins born between 2000 and 2010 (n = 704,419). Conception dates were calculated by subtracting 276 d from the recorded birth date. Records for cows conceived within the months of June, July, and August were retained as HSC cows; cows conceived within the months of December, January, and February were retained as TNC contemporaries. Significant differences (P<0.01) in mature-equivalent milk yield were observed in all first lactation cows, and in cows that were retained within one herd for three lactations. In the latter group alterations in milk compositions were statistically significant (P<0.01), but not biologically so. Furthermore, significant differences (P<0.01) in days open were observed in cows retained within one herd for three lactations. The effects of periconceptional heat stress were particularly noticeable during seasonal comparisons, with HSC cows seemingly having an advantage in subsequent episodes of heat stress. / Master of Science

Four Holstein cows with ruminal and duodenal cannulas were used to evaluate the effects of dietary fatty acylamides (canolamide) or abomasally infused conjugated linoleic acid on milk production and composition. In the first experiment, cows were fed diets with no supplemental fat(control), or the control diet supplemented at 3.3% of DM with canola oil, canolamide, or a mixture of equal amounts of canola oil and canolamide in a 4 x 4 Latin square. DMI and milk yield were decreased when cows were fed canolamide. Intake and duodenal flow of diet components and fatty acids were decreased by canolamide, but their apparent digestibilities were not affected by treatment. Fat supplementation decreased concentrations of fatty acids with 8 to 16 carbons and increased oleic acid in milk. In the second experiment, cows were infused abomasally with 100 g Linoleic acid (LA) or a mixture of 100 g LA plus 100 g conjugated linoleic acid (LA-CLA) for 24 h in a single crossover design. Infused CLA was a mixture of 70% cis-9, trans-11-18:2 and 30% trans-10, cis-12-18:2. Milk yield and DMI were not affected by treatment. Milk fat percentage and yield were decreased by LA-CLA. Concentration and yield of oleic and arachidonic acid and fatty acids with 6 to 16 carbons in milk were reduced by LA-CLA. Stearic acid and CLA concentrations in milk, however, were higher in response to LA-CLA. Infusion of LA-CLA led to increased (from 23 to 45%) concentration of unsaturated fatty acids with a concomitant decrease (from 70 to 42%) in saturated fatty acid concentration in milk fat. Feeding canolamide at 3.3% significantly decreased DMI and milk yield compared with canola oil or the mixture of canola oil and canolamide. However, results indicated that oleic acid and CLA concetration in milk fat can be increased proportionally to their flow into the small intestine. Utilization of these fatty acids for milk fat synthesis may cause a reduction in the amount of medium and short chain fatty acids synthesized de novo within the mammary gland. Furthermore, CLA appears to be a potent inhibitor of milk fat synthesis and desaturation of stearic and linoleic acid. / Master of Science

The use of antibiotics in dairy cattle has the potential to stimulate the development and subsequent fecal dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in bacteria. The objectives were to use metagenomic techniques to evaluate the effect of antibiotic treatment on ARG prevalence in the fecal microbiome of the dairy cow and to determine the temporal excretion pattern of ARGs. Twelve Holstein cows were assigned to one of four antibiotic treatments: control, pirlimycin, ceftiofur, or cephapirin. Fecal samples were collected on d -1, 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Samples were freeze-dried and subjected to DNA extraction followed by Illumina paired-end HiSeq sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Illumina sequences were analyzed using MG-RAST and the Antibiotic Resistance Gene Database (ARDB) via BLAST. Abundance of ampC, ermB, tetO, tetW, and 16S rRNA genes were determined using qPCR. All data were statistically analyzed with PROC GLIMMIX in SAS. Antibiotic treatment resulted in a shift in bacterial cell functions. Sequences associated with 'resistance to antibiotics and toxic compounds' were higher in ceftiofur-treated cows than control cows. Ceftiofur-treated cows had a higher abundance of 𝛽-lactam and multidrug resistance sequences than control cows. There was no effect of treatment or day on fecal tetO and ermB excretion. The relative abundances of tetW and ampC were higher on d 3 post-treatment than d 5 and d 28. In conclusion, antibiotic use in dairy cattle shifted bacterial cell functions and temporarily increased antibiotic resistance in the fecal microbiome. / Master of Science

Nutritional management of dairy cattle is of importance to the industry due to its influence on production performance and association with large expenses for producers. Current ration formulation may be improved by predicting feeding recommendations for individual animals, rather than groups of animals, through precision feeding. Automated feeding systems (AFS) designed to deliver individual rations must include response-based models that utilize individual cow production data to make feed recommendations. These models require large data sets of individual cow responses to a variety of nutritional interventions. As a result, an experiment was designed to collect individual response data from 24 Holstein cows fed supplemental top dresses. After analyses, dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield (MY), milk fat yield, milk protein yield, feed efficiency, and activity were significantly affected by top dress (P < 0.001). These results suggest opportunity to use precision feeding to implement economically optimal ration recommendations designed to increase dairy cow production. Therefore, a second experiment was conducted in order to develop and test two algorithms that targeted individualized feeding to increase feed efficiency. Milk protein percentage (P = 0.008) and feed efficiency (P < 0.001) were significantly affected by a 3-way interaction between top dress, algorithm, and week. These results highlight the opportunity for precision feeding to increase the efficiency of individual dairy cows. Although the control group resulted in greater income over feed costs than either of the developed algorithm feeding strategies, algorithm refinement and modification may result in more efficient feeding recommendations that are economically viable. / Master of Science / Nutritional management of cattle is crucial to the dairy industry. The feeding of dairy cattle is the largest expense for producers and directly influences cow production. In particular, precision feeding of dairy cattle may have the ability to lower costs for farmers and increase the productivity of dairy cows. Currently, cattle are fed in group configurations, where cows with similar nutrient requirements are offered the same diet. However, individually feeding dairy cows utilizing precision technologies may have the ability to increase the production performance of cattle. Utilizing precision feeding to individually feed dairy cattle requires automated feeding systems (AFS) designed to decrease the additional labor associated with feeding animals as individuals. However, algorithms designed to predict individual animal nutrient requirements are lacking for use in AFS. As a result, large data sets of individual cow responses to varying diets are necessary to train algorithms designed to predict unique ration formulations for individual animals. Two experiments were developed to collect individual animal production responses that were used to develop two response-based algorithms capable of influencing feed efficiency of individual cows. The results from these experiments highlight the potential for precision feeding of dairy cattle to influence individual animal feed efficiencies and milk production. Future improvements in algorithm development and training are necessary in order for these feeding strategies to be economically worth the investment of AFS on commercial dairy farms.

Improving prediction of P availability necessitates understanding of P digestion and absorption mechanism in ruminants. Greater knowledge of the interaction of P with other nutrients and the utilization of dietary P in the digestive tract will improve our ability to optimize P feeding and reduce P runoff in agricultural areas. In vivo experiments were performed and the data were used to reparamterize a model regarding P digestion and metabolism. The interaction of P and iron was investigated in lactating dairy cows by infusing 0, 200, 500, or 1250 mg/d Fe (equivalent to 0, 2, 5, or 12.5 mg Fe/L in drinking water) in the form of ferrous lactate solution into the abomasum of lactating cows. Phosphorus absorption was not negatively influenced by abomasally infused ferrous lactate, and the highest infusion (1250 mg Fe/d) approximates a drinking water iron content far above that found in most samples from the field. In the second study the effects of dietary P intake on intestinal P absorption was evaluated in eight growing Holstein steers fitted with permanent duodenal and ileal cannulas. Diets varying in P content (0.15%, 0.27%, 0.36% and 0.45%, DM basis) were fed , and increasing P intake increased the quantity of P absorbed from the small intestine linearly without affecting the absorption efficiency (mean = 59.6%). Only a small portion of P absorption occurred in large intestine and this was not affected by dietary P concentration. An absence of change of salivary P secretion at low dietary P suggested rumen function was prioritized during short-term P deficiency. Finally the data from these experiments along with four other studies were used to parameterize the P digestion and metabolism model of Hill et al. (2008) to provide a better understanding of the digestion and metabolism of P fractions in cattle. The data used were adequate to parameterize the digestive elements of the model with good precision, and the model structure appears to be appropriate with no significant mean or slope bias. The resulting model could be used to derive P bio-availabilities of commonly used feedstuffs in cattle production. Although the model explained the data used with no apparent bias, this does not guarantee that the model parameters are valid for all conditions. Additional data are needed to evaluate this model in a wider range of scenarios. / Ph. D.

Lactating dairy cows convert 25 to 35% of intake N to milk N, and a part of the remaining N ends up in the environment, causing pollution. Dairy cows absorb amino acids available in the small intestine supplied mainly by digestion of microbial protein and ruminally undegraded feed protein (RUP). Ruminally degradable feed protein (RDP) is the major supplier of N for microbial protein synthesis. Most of the excess RDP will be degraded to ammonia and eliminated as urea in urine. Thus, avoiding excess RDP in dairy cattle diets is important in reducing environmental N pollution. The objectives of the work in this dissertation were to test the hypothesis that lactating dairy cows, when fed varying dietary RDP, can maintain feed intake, milk and milk protein yield, ruminal metabolism, passage of nutrients out of the rumen, and N excretion. The first study investigated the effects of decreasing RDP in lactating dairy cow diets on feed intake, milk production and apparent N efficiency. Forty mid-lactation cows (36 Holstein and 4 Jersey × Holstein cross-breds) were fed a diet containing 11.3% of diet dry matter (DM) as RDP for the first 28 d (covariate period). From d 29 to 47 (treatment period) cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 diets containing constant RUP (7.1% of DM) but 11.3, 10.1, 8.8, or 7.6% of DM as RDP. Reducing RDP in diets linearly decreased DM intake and tended to decrease milk yield. Milk protein, fat and lactose contents, milk protein yield, body weight, and plasma essential amino acids were unaffected by reduced dietary RDP. However, milk urea-N concentration and milk fat yield decreased linearly with reduced dietary RDP. The apparent efficiency of N utilization for milk N production increased linearly as dietary RDP was reduced. As RDP declined in diets, linear reductions in DM intake and milk production suggested that these cannot be maintained below NRC recommendations of RDP for cows in this study. The aim of the second study was to test the hypothesis that decreasing dietary RDP in lactating dairy cow diets can maintain ruminal metabolism and flow of nutrients out of the rumen and reduce nitrogen excretion. This study was designed as a replicated Latin square with 4 periods of 21 d each. Four treatment diets containing decreasing RDP and constant RUP similar to the first study were used. Three ruminally and duodenally cannulated and 4 ruminally cannulated lactating Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of the four dietary treatments. A double marker system with Co-EDTA and Yb-labeled forage as markers was used to determine ruminal outflows of nutrients from omasal samples and nutrients reaching the intestine from duodenal samples. Ruminal microbial protein flow was observed using ¹⁵N as an external microbial marker. Feed intake, milk yield, milk composition, and urine and feces output were determined in the last week of each period. Ruminal fluid samples were taken 2 and 4 h after feeding to determine ruminal NH₃-N and volatile fatty acid concentrations. Outflows of nutrients from the rumen were determined by analyzing omasal samples collected over a 24 h feeding cycle in the last week of each period. Reducing dietary RDP decreased protein intakes while DM and fiber intakes were unaffected. Ruminal NH₃-N concentrations linearly declined and peptides and amino acids were unaffected with reduced dietary RDP. A trend for a linear decline in ruminal outflows of microbial N and total N was observed with decreasing dietary RDP. Ruminal volatile fatty acids concentrations were unaltered by feeding treatment diets. Ruminal outflows of DM and acid detergent and neutral detergent fibers were unaffected by treatments. Treatment diets did not have any effect on milk yield and milk composition. However, milk urea-N and milk fat yield decreased linearly with decreasing dietary RDP. Reducing dietary RDP did not affect milk and milk protein yields but did result in greater body protein mobilization. Fecal N output was unaffected however, urine volume and urine N output decreased linearly suggesting reduced environmental N pollution. There was a trend for a linear decrease in total body N balance, but no significant effects on calculated ruminal N balance as dietary RDP decreased. Linear reductions in microbial N leaving the rumen were due to decreased ruminal NH₃-N as peptides plus amino acids and energy supply were unaffected. The linear reduction in milk production and microbial N flow in the first and second studies, respectively, did not support our hypothesis that lactating dairy cows can be fed dietary RDP below current NRC (2001) recommendations without affecting animal performance. The need to raise 15% more cows to alleviate the loss in production may nullify the advantage in reduced N output into the environment by cows fed lower dietary RDP. / Ph. D.

No description available.

The objectives of the current experiment were to characterize patterns of daily rumination time, activity and milk production around the diagnosis of health disorders, and to determine if the addition of rumination and activity data to a commercial dairy farm fresh cow health monitoring program improves sick cow detection and diagnosis of disease during the first 30 DIM. Holstein animals (primiparous = 282, parous = 328) were enrolled in the experiment approximately 60 d before expected calving date, and were divided into two groups (Collar Monitoring-CM-, n=293 ; Control-C-, n=317). Electronic rumination and activity monitoring tags (SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel) were fitted on cows neck at enrollment and were kept until approximately 80 &#177; 3 DIM. Farm personnel checked the cows and performed the diagnosis of disease following the routine of the dairy. Cows from both of the groups were sent to check based on the parameters used by the farm. Additionally, cows from group CM were checked based on the data provided by the tags. Serum calcium concentration was determined using blood samples collected from 0 to 4 DIM. BHBA concentration was determined twice using blood samples collected from 4 to 12 DIM and 7 to 20 DIM. Subclinical hypocalcemia (SCHC) and subclinical ketosis (SCK) were characterized as Ca &lt;8.55 ng/dL, and BHBA &gt;1,000 &micro;mol/L in any blood sample, respectively. Daily rumination time (DRT), daily activity (ACT), and daily milk production patterns for cows with clinical disease showed differences with healthy cows around diagnosis (P $lt;0.05). Cows with subclinical disorders and calving problems had changes in DRT, ACT, and milk production patterns compared to healthy cows around calving (P &lt;0.05). DRT and ACT patterns of regrouped cows were characterized by differences with non-regrouped cows around regrouping (P &lt;0.05). No differences were found for DRT, ACT, and milk production between groups C and CM. The overall sensitivity (Se) of collars to identify health disorders was 56.4% (n = 402 cases), considering a positive outcome as at least 1 alert based on rumination and activity from -7 to +2 d relative to diagnosis. Se was higher for cows with more than one disorder (75.8%) than for cows with one disease only (45.5%) (P &lt;0.001). No differences between groups were found for overall Se, and Se for cows with one disease. However, for cows with more than one disorder, Se was higher in group CM than C (P = 0.005). Overall specificity, positive predicted values, and negative predicted values were 74.5%, 46.4%, and 57.6%, respectively. The overall incidence of disease was 48%. No differences between groups were found for overall incidence of disease and each disease. Among primiparous, group CM (43.3%) had higher overall incidence of disease than group C (32.1%) (P = 0.05). Although were not differences for parous, incidence of metritis tended to be greater in group C than CM (P = 0.1). Incidence of SCK and SCHC was not different between groups. A higher percentage of animals from group CM than C received treatment (P = 0.04), and these differences were seen in primiparous (P = 0.03), but not in parous. However, a higher percentage of parous not diagnosed as sick from group CM received support treatments (drenching and fluids) compared to C. No differences were shown for culling rate, service rate until 150 DIM, conception rate at first service, and percentage of cows marked as do not breed between groups. DRT and ACT patterns for sick cows showed differences around diagnosis compared to healthy cows. The use of DRT and ACT data was able to identify sick cows in a commercial dairy farm. Results suggest that it may be also useful to identify cows needing attention before clinical signs are visible, improving the prevention of health disorders. Its usefulness may vary according to parity, disease, severity of disease and health compromise, and the intensity of the farm system for checking cows. Future research should evaluate different parameters and parameters thresholds based on rumination and activity data for identifying sick cows, and their efficiency in dairies with different degrees of intensity for checking animals health. / Os objetivos deste experimento foram caracterizar os padrões diários do tempo de ruminação, atividade, e produção de leite arredor do diagnostico de doenças, e determinar se a adição de dados de ruminação e atividade num programa de monitoramento de saúde de vacas de uma fazenda comercial melhora a detecção de vacas doentes e o diagnostico de doenças durante os primeiros 30 DEL. Animais Holstein (primíparas = 282, multíparas = 328) foram utilizados no experimento aproximadamente 60&#177;3 dias antes da data esperada de parto, e foram divididos em dois grupos (Collar Monitoring-CM-, n=293; Control-C-, n=317). Dispositivos eletrônicos para o monitoramento da ruminação e atividade acoplados a colares (SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel) foram colocados nas vacas no enrolamento e mantidos ate aproximadamente 80&#177;3 DEL. O monitoramento de saúde das vacas e o diagnostico de doenças foram realizados pelos funcionários da fazenda seguindo a rotina do estabelecimento. Os animais dos dois grupos foram enviados para checagem de saúde baseados nos parâmetros utilizados pela fazenda. Adicionalmente, as vacas do grupo CM foram checadas baseadas na informação suprida pelos colares. A concentração de cálcio sérico foi determinada usando uma amostra de sangue coletada do dia 0 ao 4 em leite. A concentração de beta-hidroxibutirato (BHBA) foi determinada duas vezes usando amostras de sangue coletadas do dia 4 ao 12, e do 7 ao 20 do posparto. Hipocalcemia subclínica (SCHC) e cetose subclínica (SCK) foram caracterizadas como Ca &lt;8.55 ng/dL, e BHBA &gt;1000 &micro;mol/L em qualquer amostra, respectivamente. Os padrões diários do tempo de ruminação (DRT), atividade (ACT), e produção de leite de vacas com doenças clinicas arredor do diagnostico mostraram diferencias comparados com vacas sadias (P &lt;0.05). Vacas com alterações subclínicas e problemas de parto tiveram alterações nos padrões de DRT, ACT, e produção de leite arredor do parto, quando comparadas a vacas controle (P &lt;0.05). Padrões de DRT e ACT de vacas reagrupadas se caracterizaram por diferencias com vacas não reagrupadas (P &lt;0.05). Não foram achadas diferencias em DRT, ACT, e produção de leite entre os grupos C e CM. A sensibilidade (Se) dos colares para identificar problemas de saúde foi de 56.4% (n = 402 casos), considerando como evento positivo a ocorrência de pelo menos uma alerta baseada em ruminação e atividade dentro dos 7 dias prévios ate 2 dias apos o diagnostico de doença. A Se foi maior para vacas com mais de uma doença (75.8%) que em para vacas com uma doença somente (45.5%) (P &lt;0.001). Não se acharam diferencias na Se geral, nem Se para vacas com uma doença somente entre grupos. Porem, a Se foi maior no grupo CM que no grupo C (P = 0.005) em vacas com mais de uma doença. A especificidade (Sp), valores da predição positiva (PPV), e valores da predição negativa (NPV) foram 74.5%, 46.4%, e 57.6%, respectivamente. A incidência de doença foi de 48%. Não houve diferencias entre grupos na incidência de doença, nem na incidência de cada doença. Entre as primíparas, o grupo CM (43.3%) teve maior incidência de doença do que o grupo C (32.1%) (P = 0.05). Embora não teve diferencia na incidência de doença entre grupos para multíparas, a incidência de metrite teve uma tendência a ser maior no grupo C do que no grupo CM (P = 0.1). A incidência de SCK e SCHC não foi diferente entre grupos. Maior percentagem de animais do grupo CM recebeu tratamento do que do grupo C (P = 0.04), e estas diferencias foram observadas em primíparas (P = 0.03), mas não em multíparas. Contudo, uma maior percentagem de animais não diagnosticados como doentes do grupo CM recebeu tratamentos de suporte, quando comparado ao grupo C. Não se acharam diferencias na taxa de descarte, taxa de serviço aos 150 DEL, taxa de concepção ao primeiro serviço, e percentagem de vacas de descarte reprodutivo entre grupos. Resumindo, os padrões de DRT e ACT de vacas doentes arredor do diagnostico de doença mostraram diferencias comparados com os de vacas sadias. O uso da informação de DRT e ACT foi capaz de identificar vacas doentes numa fazenda comercial. Os resultados sugerem que a utilização dos colares pode ser util para identificar vacas com necessidade de atenção antes da aparição de sinais clínicos visíveis, melhorando a prevenção de problemas de saúde. A utilidade da utilização do sistema pode variar de acordo a ordem de partos dos animais, doença em questão, severidade da doença e comprometimento de saúde do animal, e com a intensidade do sistema de monitoramento de saúde dos animais da fazenda. Próximas pesquisas deveriam avaliar diferentes parâmetros baseados na informação de ruminação e atividade para identificar vacas doentes, e a sua eficiência em fazendas com diferentes graus de intensidade para o monitoramento de saúde.

The objectives of this study were to characterize the hematological and productive pattern during the peripartum in cows with and without anemia, as well as to evaluate the erythrogram in animals that presented metritis puerperal acute (MPA), lameness, acetonemia, increased non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and cows with different categorization of body condition score (BCS). In study 1, 50 Holstein cows (29 multiparous and 21 primiparous) were used. Blood samples and physical examination were performed at 13 different times: 18 &#177; 3, 12 &#177; 2, 5 &#177; 1, and 2 &#177; 1 before calving, and 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 days postpartum. Erythrogram evaluations were performed, and red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volum (PCV), and absolute hematimetric values of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin, RDW, serum concentrations of iron, betahydroxybutyrate (BHBA), AGNE and total bilirubin (TBIL) were determined for the biochemical analyzes. Anemia was classified according to hemoglobin values &lt;7 g / dL and globular volume &lt;24%. The prevalence of anemia was higher in the period 60 days postpartum affecting 18.3% of the animals, the pattern of anemia presented was normocytic, normochromic, regenerative. RBC, PCV and hemoglobin were lower (P &lt;0.05) for animals with anemia. While the animals with MPA and lameness the value of the erythrogram was very similar throughout the postpartum period. No difference was observed between the groups according to the values of NEFA, BCS and loss of BCS during the periods performed in the postpartum period. In conclusion the anemic animals presented the values of the physical examination according to the physiological limits, the anemia did not cause productive losses in the affected animals. It was not evidenced that animals with MPA and claudicants presented a greater reduction of blood crass, excluding the occurrence of inflammatory anemia, and although the prevalence of anemia increased during postpartum, it was not possible to characterize the main cause of the reduction of hematological values between the categorizations. In the second study, blood was sampled from 336 animals (252 multiparous and 84 primiparous) between 21 and 30 days in lactation (DEL) on 7 farms in the State of São Paulo with the objective of characterizing the prevalence of anemia in dairy cows, prevalence of anemia in different categorizations such as: lactation number, BCS at the time of collection, dystocia, retention of fetal membranes, mastitis, digestive problem, lameness and acetonemia, , as well as the analysis erythrogram, biochemical profile, BCS, and milk production among animals with and without anemia. In conclusion, the prevalence of anemia was low (16.3%) and no association with the categorizations performed in this study, it was not possible to characterize the cause of anemia through biochemical analysis. / Os objetivos deste estudo foi caracterizar o padrão hematológico e produtivo durante o periparto em vacas com e sem anemia, assim como avaliar o eritrograma em animais que apresentaram metrite puerperal aguda (MPA), claudicação, acetonemia, valores de ácidos graxos não esterificados aumentados (AGNE) e vacas com diferentes categorizações de escore de condição corporal (ECC). No estudo 1, foram utilizadas 50 vacas Holandesas (29 multíparas e 21 primíparas), foram realizadas colheitas sanguíneas e exame físicos em 13 momentos diferentes: 18 &#177; 3, 12 &#177; 2, 5 &#177; 1, e 2 &#177; 1 antes do parto, parto, e 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 e 60 dias após o parto. Foram realizadas avaliações do eritrograma sendo mensurado a contagem de hemácias (RBC), concentração de hemoglobina, volume globular, além dos valores hematimétricos absolutos do volume corpuscular médio (VCM), concentração hemoglobínica corpuscular média (CHCM), hemoglobina corpuscular média (HCM) e RDW, para as análises bioquímicas foram determinadas a concentração sérica de ferro, betahidróxidobutirato (BHBA), AGNE e bilirrubina total (TBIL). Anemia foi classificada de acordo com os valores de hemoglobina &lt; 7 g/dL e o volume globular &lt; 24 %. A prevalência de anemia foi maior no período 60 dias após o parto afetando 18.3% dos animais, o padrão da anemia apresentado foi normocítica, normocrômica, regenerativa. Os valores das contagens de hemácias, volume globular e hemoglobina foram menores (P &lt; 0.05) para os animais com anemia. Enquanto os animais com MPA e com claudicação, o valor do eritrograma foi muito semelhante ao longo do pós-parto. Não foi observado diferença entre os grupos de acordo com os valores de AGNE, ECC e perda de ECC durante as coletas realizadas no pós-parto. Em conclusão os animais anêmicos apresentaram os valores do exame físico de acordo com os limites fisiológicos, a anemia não provocou perdas produtivas nos animais afetados. Não foi evidenciado que animais com MPA e claudicantes apresentassem maior redução da crase sanguínea, excluindo a ocorrência de anemia inflamatória, sendo que embora a prevalência de anemia aumentasse durante o pós-parto não foi possível caracterizar a causa principal da redução dos valores hematológicos entre as categorizações realizadas. No estudo 2, foram realizadas coletas sanguíneas em 336 animais (252 multíparas e 84 primíparas) entre 21 e 30 dias em lactação (DEL) em 7 fazendas no Estado de São Paulo com objetivo de caracterizar a prevalência de anemia nos animais, prevalência de anemia em diferentes categorizações realizadas como: distocia, retenção dos anexos fetais, mastite, problema digestivo, claudicação, acetonemia, ECC no momento da coleta e número de parto, assim como a análise do eritrograma, bioquímico e ECC e produção de leite entre os animais com e sem anemia. Em conclusão a prevalência de anemia foi baixa prevalência (16.3 %) e nenhuma associação com as categorizações realizadas nesse estudo, adicionalmente não foi possível caracterizar por meio de análises bioquímicas a causa da anemia.

In recent years, economic, social, and environmental factors have encouraged higher forage diets to be fed to dairy cows. Consequently, a better understanding of both the chemical and physical properties of dietary forage fiber is needed. Undigested neutral detergent fiber after 240 hours of fermentation (uNDF240) is the fiber residue remaining after 240 hours of in vitro fermentation and has only recently been defined. Physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF) was defined about two decades ago and is the fraction of dietary fiber with a particle size (i.e., ≥1.18-mm screen) that stimulates chewing behavior, forms the rumen digesta mat, and is resistant to passage from the rumen. To-date, the relationship between these two dietary fiber measurements has not been evaluated. The overall goal of this thesis research was to quantitate the relationship between dietary uNDF240 and peNDF on feed intake, lactational performance, chewing behavior, and the ruminal environment of lactating Holstein dairy cows. The focal study (Chapter 2) investigated the effects of dietary uNDF240 (low or high) and peNDF (low or high) on lactating dairy cows. The four treatments were: 1) low uNDF240, low peNDF (8.8%, 20.1%; LULP; 2) low uNDF240, high peNDF (8.9%, 21.8%; LUHP); 3) high uNDF240, low peNDF (11.4%, 18.6%; HULP); and 4) high uNDF240, high peNDF (11.6%, 22.0%; HUHP). Additionally, a new descriptive term, physically effective uNDF240 (peuNDF240) was calculated as the product of the dietary physical effectiveness factor (pef; % of particles retained on ≥1.18-mm screen with dry sieving) and uNDF240 as a percentage of dry matter (DM). This new descriptive term aimed to integrate the effects of dietary particle size and NDF (in)digestibility. The dietary peuNDF240 concentrations were 5.4% (LULP), 5.8% (LUHP), 5.9% (HULP), and 7.1% (HUHP). The LULP treatment resulted in greater dry matter intake (DMI) and energy corrected milk (ECM), as well as more favorable chewing behavior (i.e., no effect on rumination but less time spent eating) in comparison to the HUHP diet. When comparing the same two treatments, total volatile fatty acid concentration was greater, mean ruminal pH was lower, and NDF turnover rate tended to be greater for the LULP treatment. Milk fat percentage was influenced by dietary uNDF240 with the high uNDF240 diets having an elevated percentage. The LUHP and HULP treatments often did not differ in animal response variables, such as DMI, ECM, mean ruminal pH, and chewing behavior, reflecting their similar dietary peuNDF240 concentration. Importantly, by reducing peNDF of the high uNDF240 treatments, DMI increased to an amount similar to the low uNDF240 treatments. Animal responses were consistently different between the LULP and HUHP treatments as expected: the low uNDF240 diet, chopped more finely, encouraged greater DMI than the high uNDF240 diet chopped coarsely. However, the LUHP and HULP diets with similar peuNDF240 often resulted in similar cow responses, even though the peuNDF240 was obtained differently for each diet. With these diets fed to high-producing cows, it appears that the integration of particle size and indigestibility of fiber using a peuNDF240 measurement is highly related to DMI, ECM yield, chewing behavior, and ruminal environment. In the future, this relationship may prove useful in predicting DMI of lactating dairy cows fed a range of diets differing in uNDF240 and particle size.