Changes in Cow Rumens, Blood and Milk Properties Before and After Breeding

Dry period cows are raised with mostly fiber and after breeding, they are raised with fiber and feed grain. This feed change causes rumen condition changes that cause metabolic disease and low productivity. To clarify these matters, we studied the changes in cow rumens, blood and milk properties before and after breeding. We chose five cows from two free stall farms that raise cows with Total Mixed Rations (TMR). Blood, rumen fluid and milk were measured for one week before their dry period and 1 week after the dry period, 1 month after the dry period, 1 week before breeding and 1, 2, 3, 4, and, 8 weeks after breeding. We measured ammonia, lactic acid, pH and the protozoa count in the rumen fluid, blood biochemical assay, plus milk volume and milk components. The farm that had the larger change of fiber ratio in the feed was designated "A, " and the other farm was "B". In the case of A, levels of ammonia in the rumen fluid and BUN were larger than B. Large protozoa were lost at A after breeding. The level of 3-hydroxybutyric acids in the blood was lower for A than B. The A milk fat ratio was lower than B. We concluded that the bigger change in fiber ratio in the feed causes low productivity.