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Conference paper2024

Ruminal pH data analysis in lactating dairy cows fed with a SARA-inducing diet

Shrestha, Yubak; Danielsson, Rebecca; Rustas, Bengt-Ove; Hägglund, Sara; Valarcher, Jean-Francois; Eriksson, Torsten; Åkerlind, M.; Gonda, Horacio

Abstract

Feeding high amounts of easily fermentable carbohydrates, as starch, may lead to a decrease in ruminal pH resulting in conditions such as ruminal acidosis (RA) and subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) (McAuliffe et al. 2022). Unlike clinical RA, SARA results from a repeated moderate drop in rumen pH over a prolonged period of time (Enemark 2008). Signs of SARA include, among others, a decrease in dry matter intake, lamenesses, milk fat depression, loose faeces, abscesses in the liver and other organs and also a high culling rate in the herd. SARA usually goes undetected due to it´s subtle signs. The lack of diagnosis cause negative welfare impact and economic losses (Plaizier et al. 2008). With the objective to identify suitable biological markers to diagnose SARA, we conducted a study with lactating dairy cows fed either a control diet or a SARA inducing diet. Along the study, rumen pH for each cow was monitored by using a rumen bolus capable of register pH continuously at 10 min intervals. In the present paper, we present data of rumen pH and discuss how to interpretate the data provided by it.

Published in

Rapporter från institutionen för tillämpad husdjursvetenskap och välfärd
2024, number: 3, pages: 97-99 Title: Proceedings of the 12th Nordic Feed Science Conference, Uppsala, Sweden
ISBN: 978-91-8046-741-4, eISBN: 978-91-8046-742-1Publisher: Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Conference

The 12th Nordic Feed Science Conference, 2024, June 18-19, Uppsala, Sweden