An accurate estimation of dry matter intake (DMI) of lactating dairy cows is not only crucial for diet formulation, but also for predicting nutrient excretion. The DMI prediction models of Agroscope (1994), were developed during the 90’s thus an update and validity check is needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of models predicting DMI in comparison with present-day DMI database of lactating dairy cows fed forage-based diets indoor.

Low winter temperatures in some regions have a negative impact on animal performance, behavior, and welfare. The objective of this study was to evaluate some physiological, metabolic, and lactational responses of dairy goats exposed to cold temperatures for 3 weeks. Eight Murciano-Granadina dairy goats (41.8 kg body weight, 70 days in milk, and 2.13 kg/day milk) were used from mid-January to mid-March. Goats were divided into 2 balanced groups and used in a crossover design with 2 treatments in 2 periods (21 days each, 14 days adaptation and 7 days for measurements). After the first period, goats were switched to the opposite treatment. The treatments included 2 different controlled climatic conditions with different temperature-humidity index (THI) values. The treatments were: thermoneutral conditions (TN; 15 to 20 °C, 45% humidity, THI = 58 to 65), and cold temperature (CT; −3 to 6 °C, 63% humidity, THI = 33 to 46). Goats were fed ad libitum a total mixed ration (70% forage and 30% concentrate) and water was freely available. Goats were milked at 0800 and 1700 h. Dry matter intake, water consumption, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate were recorded daily (days 15 to 21). Body weight was recorded at the start and end of each period. Milk samples for composition were collected on 2 consecutive days (days 20 and 21). Insulin, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), ß-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured in blood on d 21. Compared to TN goats, CT goats had similar feed intake, but lower water consumption (−22 ± 3%), respiratory rate (−5 ± 0.8 breaths/min), and rectal temperature (−0.71 ± 0.26 °C). Milk yield decreased by 13 ± 3% in CT goats, but their milk contained more fat (+13 ± 4%) and protein (+14 ± 5%), and consequently the energy-corrected milk did not vary between TN and CT goats. The CT goats lost 0.64 kg of body weight, whereas TN goats gained 2.54 kg in 21 days. Blood insulin and cholesterol levels were not affected by CT. However, values of blood glucose, NEFA, hematocrit, and hemoglobin increased or tended to increase by CT, whereas BHB and triglycerides decreased. Overall, CT goats produced less but concentrated milk compared to TN goats. Despite similar feed intake and blood insulin levels CT goats had increased blood glucose and NEFA levels. The tendency of increased blood NEFA indicates that CT goats mobilized body fat reserves to cover the extra energy needed for heat production under cold conditions.

Heat stress (HS) has a significant economic impact on the global dairy industry. However, the mechanisms by which HS negatively affects metabolism and milk synthesis in dairy ewes are not well defined. This study evaluated the production and metabolic variables in dairy ewes under controlled HS conditions. Eight Lacaune ewes (75.5 ± 3.2 kg of body weight; 165 ± 4 d of lactation; 2.31 ± 0.04 kg of milk per day) were submitted to thermoneutral (TN) or HS conditions in a crossover design (2 periods, 21 d each, 6-d transition). Conditions (day-night, 12–12 h; relative humidity; temperature-humidity index, THI) were: TN (15–20°C; 50 ± 5%; THI = 59–65) and HS (28–35°C; 45 ± 5%; THI = 75–83). Ewes were fed ad libitum and milked twice daily. Rectal temperature, respiratory rate, feed intake, water consumption, and milk yield were recorded daily. Milk and blood samples were collected weekly. Additionally, TN and HS ewes were exposed to glucose tolerance test, insulin tolerance test, and epinephrine challenge. Heat stress reduced feed intake (−11%), and increased rectal temperature (+0.77°C), respiratory rate (+90 breaths/min), and water consumption (+28%). Despite the reduced feed intake, HS ewes produced similar milk to TN ewes, but their milk contained lower fat (−1.7 points) and protein (−0.86 points). Further, HS milk tended to contain more somatic cells (+0.23 log points). Blood creatinine was greater in HS compared with TN, but no differences in blood glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, or urea were detected. When glucose was infused, TN and HS had similar insulin response, but higher glucose response (+85%) was detected in HS ewes. Epinephrine infusion resulted in lower nonesterified fatty acids response (−215%) in HS than TN ewes. Overall, HS decreased feed intake, but milk production was not affected. Heat stress caused metabolic adaptations that included increased body muscle degradation and reduced adipose tissue mobilization. These adaptations allowed ewes to spare glucose and to avoid reductions in milk yield.

En el número anterior comenzamos a calcular e interpretar los intervalos de confianza. La tabla 1 muestra los datos con los que calculábamos los intervalos de confianza. Explicamos que nuestra variable aleatoria (cualquiera de las tres de la tabla 1) por el hecho de ser aleatorias y continuas siguen la Ley Normal, el 95 % de los valores de las ganancias de peso de los lechones dentro de cada uno de los grupos estará aproximadamente entre el valor de la media de su grupo y 2 veces (formalmente el valor es 1,96) el valor del error estándar. Para ambos grupos tenemos los intervalos de confianza en la tabla 2.

En los próximos artículos vamos a repasar unos conceptos básicos pero muchas veces olvidados acerca de las significaciones estadísticas y los intervalos de confianza. Supongamos que en un ensayo de alimentación en lechones destetados se obtuvieran los resultados que se muestran en la tabla 1. Los datos son las medias de los diferentes tratamientos.La media es un parámetro estadístico descriptivo de una población. Hay múltiples parámetros estadísticos descriptivos como la media, desviación típica, proporción, etc… Al iniciar el experimento, los autores o nosotros mismos, desconocemos el dato real de la ganancia de peso, del consumo y del índice de conversión de la población total de lechones. Lo que hacemos al elegir estos 448 lechones con 14 corrales por tratamiento y 8 lechones por corral, del experimento, es tomar una muestra, y, por tanto, estimaremos el valor del parámetro estadístico de interés, en este caso la media.

Heat stress and mastitis are major economic issues in dairy production. The objective was to test whether goat’s mammary gland immune response to E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could be conditioned by heat stress (HS). Changes in milk composition and milk metabolomics were evaluated after the administration of LPS in mammary glands of dairy goats under thermal-neutral (TN; n = 4; 15 to 20 °C; 40 to 45% humidity) or HS (n = 4; 35 °C day, 28 °C night; 40% humidity) conditions. Milk metabolomics were evaluated using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and multivariate analyses were carried out. Heat stress reduced feed intake and milk yield by 28 and 21%, respectively. Mammary treatment with LPS resulted in febrile response that was detectable in TN goats, but was masked by elevated body temperature due to heat load in HS goats. Additionally, LPS increased milk protein and decreased milk lactose, with more marked changes in HS goats. The recruitment of somatic cells in milk after LPS treatment was delayed by HS. Milk metabolomics revealed that citrate increased by HS, whereas choline, phosphocholine, N-acetylcarbohydrates, lactate, and ß-hydroxybutyrate could be considered as putative markers of inflammation with different pattern according to the ambient temperature (i.e. TN vs. HS). In conclusion, changes in milk somatic cells and milk metabolomics indicated that heat stress affected the mammary immune response to simulated infection, which could make dairy animals more vulnerable to mastitis.

Consequences of heat stress during pregnancy can affect the normal development of the offspring. In the present experiment, 30 Murciano-Granadina dairy goats (41.8 ± 5.7 kg) were exposed to 2 thermal environments varying in temperature-humidity index (THI) from 12 days before mating to 45 days of gestation. The environmental conditions were: gestation under thermal-neutral (TN; THI = 71 ± 3); and gestation under heat stress (HS; THI = 85 ± 3) conditions. At 27 ± 4 days old, female kids exposed to in utero TN (IUTN; n = 16) or in utero HS (IUHS; n = 10) were subjected to 2 tests: arena test (AT) and novel object test (NOT), the latter was repeated at 3 months of age. Additionally, 8 months after birth, a subset of IUTH and IUHS growing goats (n = 8 each; 16.8 ± 3.4 kg BW) were exposed to 2 environmental conditions in 2 consecutive periods: a basal thermal-neutral period (THI = 72 ± 3) for 7 days, and a heat-stress period (THI = 87 ± 2) for 21 days. In both periods, feeding, resting, posture, and thermally-associated behaviors were recorded. The gestation length was shortened by 3 days in GHS goats. In the AT, IUHS kids showed a lower number of sniffs (P < 0.01) compared to IUTN. In the NOT, IUHS kids also tended to show a lower number of sniffs (P = 0.09). During heat exposure, IUTN and IUHS growing goats spent more time resting and exhibited more heat-stress related behaviors such as panting and drinking (P < 0.001); however, no differences were observed between both groups. In conclusion, heat stress during the first third of pregnancy shortened gestation length and influenced the exploratory behavior of the kids in the early life. However, behavior responses to heat stress during the adulthood were not affected by the in utero thermal treatment.

Heat stress causes significant losses in milk production, and nutritional strategies are needed to alleviate its effects. Endogenous carnitine synthesis is also reduced by heat stress (HS). Carnitine plays a central role in fatty acid oxidation and buffers the toxic effects of acyl groups. We hypothesized that carnitine supplementation would make up for any carnitine deficiencies during HS and improve lipid metabolism. The objective was to evaluate rumen-protected L-carnitine (CAR) supplementation in dairy goats under thermo-neutral (TN) or HS conditions. Four Murciano-Granadina dairy goats were used in a four × four Latin square design. Goats were allocated to one of four treatments in a two × two factorial arrangement. Factors were 1) diet: control (CON) or supplementation with CAR (1 g/d); and 2) ambient conditions: TN (15 to 20 °C) or HS (0900 to 2100 h at 35 °C, 2100 to 0900 h at 28 °C). Blood free-, acetyl-, and total-carnitine concentrations increased almost three times by supplementation. Despite this efficient absorption, CAR had no effect on feed intake, milk production or blood metabolites in TN or HS conditions. Heat stress increased rectal temperature and respiratory rate. Additionally, HS goats experienced 26% loss in feed intake, but they tended to eat longer particle sizes. Compared to TN, heat-stressed goats lost more subcutaneous fat (difference in fat thickness measured before and after each period = −0.72 vs. +0.64 mm). In conclusion, supplemented L-carnitine was efficiently absorbed, but it had no lactational effects on performance of goats under thermo-neutral or heat stress conditions.

The objective was to identify possible biomarkers of cold stress in blood of dairy goats. Eight lactating Murciano-Granadina dairy goats (2.13 ± 0.36 L/d; 70 ± 2 DIM; 41.75 ± 2.02 kg body weight) were maintained under 2 environmental conditions varying in ambient temperature: 1) 4 goats under thermoneutral (TN; 15 to 20°C), and 2) 4 goats under cold stress (CS; −4 to 8°C). In both environments, humidity averaged 60 ± 5% with 12–12h light-dark cycles. The experimental design was crossover with 2 treatments in 2 periods (21d each). Blood samples were collected weekly and analyzed by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy operating at 600 MHz. Multivariate analyses of data were carried out by the ChemoSpec package of R program and further analyzed by the web-based MetaboAnalyst program. Principal component and partial least square–discriminant analyses were used to identify possible metabolite markers. Goats under CS conditions had lower (P < 0.05) rectal temperature (−0.32°C), water consumption (−1.25 ± 0.24 L/d), and milk yield (−0.19 L/d) than TN goats. These results indicate that the low temperatures used in this experiment caused significant cold stress in goats. Metabolomics analysis revealed that CS goats had higher α- and β-glucose in plasma. This is in agreement with greater (P < 0.05) blood glucose in CS (66.7 mg/dL) than TN goats (64.1 mg/dL). There was also an increment in blood phosphatidylcholine, which could be related to lipid metabolism as CS goats mobilized body fat reserves and had greater (P < 0.05) blood nonesterified fatty acids concentrations (0.215 mmol/L) than TN goats (0.107 mmol/L). Tyrosine levels were greater in CS goats, which could be used for the synthesis of catecholamines. In conclusion, the H-NMR was a useful technique to define differences in blood metabolome by cold stress. The metabolic changes detected were mainly related to the increment in glucose, lipid metabolism, and neurotransmitters synthesis. Study funded by Project AGL2013–44061-R (Plan Nacional, MINECO, Spain)