@conference {41679,
	title = {The effect of colostrum intake on mortality and growth of Friesian bulls from birth to slaughter},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {66},
	year = {2006},
	month = {Jan},
	pages = {382-385},
	publisher = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	organization = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	address = {Napier},
	abstract = {Dairy cow glucose requirements increase dramatically during the weeks preceding calving, 
suggesting that supplements that increase glucose supply (rapidly fermentable carbohydrates) would reduce 
precalving mobilisation of body tissue and improve subsequent milk production. Sixty-eight multiparous 
dairy cows were randomly allocated to one of two diets for 36 {\textpm} 8.7 days precalving. All cows were fed 
pasture and pasture-silage precalving, with one group also receiving 3kg DM of a barley-maize concentrate. 
Precalving diets were iso-energetic (114 MJ/cow/day).At calving, cows within each precalving feeding 
treatments were randomly allocated to two dietary treatments for 35 days in a 2x2 factorial arrangement. 
Postcalving, all cows received pasture and pasture silage with one group also receiving 5.0 kg DM of a 
barley-maize concentrate. Postcalving diets were alsoiso-energetic (179 MJ/cow/day). Milk yield and 
composition, and liveweight (LW) and body condition score (BCS) were assessed weekly for five weeks. 
Blood was sampled on day -21, -14, -7, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 relative to calving, and plasma 
samples were analysed for indicators of energy status. Average milksolids yield (1.9 kg/cow/d) during the 
five weeks postcalving was not affected by either pre- or postcalving concentrate supplementation, although 
protein to fat ratio was higher in supplemented cows. Similarly, concentrate supplementation pre- or 
postcalving did not affect either LW or BCS change before or after calving. Cows receiving concentrates 
precalving had higher (P<0.001) plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations, but otherwise were 
not different to those receiving an equivalent energy intake from pasture and pasture silage. Postcalving 
concentrate supplementation increased (P<0.01) plasma glucose and NEFA and decreased (P<0.001) plasma 
B-OH butyrate. Results suggests little effect on milkproduction by replacing energy from structural 
carbohydrates in high quality pasture with energy from non-structural carbohydrate during the transition 
period. },
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Muir PD and Thomson BC and Fugle CJ}
}
