Effects Of Sugar Beet Pulp Substituted For Ground Corn On The Performance, Blood Biochemistry Indicators And Heath Of Dairy Cows

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sugar beet pulp (SBP) as an energy source partially substituted for ground corn on the performance, nutritional status using blood indices and health of Chinese Holstein dairy cows.Part 1: Sixty multifarious Holstein cows(60±22 DIM, 31.2±6.2 kg of milk/d) were used with a randomized complete block design. Cows were balanced into two pens and within each pen of three groups (control, 20SBP or 40SBP) and each group comprising 10 cows (n=10). The cows were fed a diet containing either ground corn (control) or SBP (20% or 40% of the ground corn replaced with SBP on the basis of corn DM, 20SBP and 40SBP) as the main energy source. The results showed that dry matter intake, milk production, energy corrected milk not affected by SBP substitution increased (P>0.05). The milk protein, milk fat, milk lactose, total solids, solid non-fat and somatic cell counts showed no significant differences among three treatments.Part 2: According to the experiment cows and the design of part 1. Blood samples were collected every four weeks via venipuncture from coccygeal vein 2 h after morning feeding to evaluate the effect of Blood biochemistry Indicators.The results showed that the concentrations of blood urea nitrogen and glucose decreased significantly when cows fed SBP in the diets(P<0.01). No significant difference in NEFA, BHBA, TG, LDLD, HDLD, TP, ALB, GLB, CHOL, CO2 of the blood among the treatment groups in this experiment was detected.Part 3: According to the experiment cows and the design of part 1. Individual dung score and cudding activity were determined every seven days. Body condition scores were determined on the same days of each four week interval by three trained investigators; Locomotion score of each cow was determined on the same days of each four week. Our results showed that cows fed the diet containing SBP in this experiment were observed to have slightly lower dung score than the control group (P < 0.05). However, and no significant differences existed among three treatments on cudding activity, body condition score (BCS), and locomotion score (P>0.05). The results tend to indicate that dried sugar beet pulp supplemented is equal to corn as an energy source for performance of dairy cows, and decreased the cost.