title: Milk production of dairy cows fed wet corn gluten feed during the dry period and lactation.
abstract: An experiment was conducted with 36 primiparous and 40 multiparous Holstein cows to examine the effects of feeding wet corn gluten feed (WCGF) on 305-d milk production, dry matter (DM) intake, body condition score (BCS), and health. The experimental treatments included: 1) control--WCGF not fed (n = 27); 2) WCGF-L-cows received diets containing WCGF (38% DM basis) during lactation (n = 23); and 3) WCGF-DL--cows received diets containing WCGF (38% DM basis) during the dry period and lactation (n = 26). During the dry period, cows consuming WCGF were observed to have a significant gain in BCS (0.07 +/- 0.06) compared with a loss in BCS in cows fed the control diet (control = -0.11 +/- 0.06 and WCGF-L = -0.04 +/- 0.06). During lactation, there were no differences by treatment on BCS. Cows consuming WCGF during lactation consumed more feed compared with the control: 25.4, 23.8, and 21.2 +/- 0.76 kg/d for WCGF-L, WCGF-DL, and the control, respectively. Milk production was higher for cows consuming WCGF: 35.0, 34.7, and 31.1 +/- 2.1 kg/d for WCGF-L, WCGF-DL, and the control, respectively. No differences were found in either DM intake or actual milk yield between the WCGF-L and WCGF-DL treatments, indicating that prepartum diets did not influence lactational performance. The WCGF diets resulted in significant reductions in the concentration of milk fat (3.94, 3.74, and 4.15 +/- 0.08% for WCGF-L, WCGF-DL, and the control, respectively), but because total milk yield was increased, there were no differences in total milk fat yield. In addition, 3.5% of fat-corrected milk tended to be affected by diet: 38.9, 36.3, and 34.7 +/- 1.93 kg/d for WCGF-L, WCGF-DL, and the control, respectively. The increasing effect of DM intake and milk yield in cows consuming WCGF resulted in a similar efficiency of 3.5% fat-corrected milk production for all treatments, averaging 1.5 +/- 0.09. Total protein yields were significantly higher for cows consuming WCGF diets during lactation: 1.15, 1.10, 1.00 +/- 0.06 kg/d for WCGF-L, WCGF-DL, and the control, respectively. These results indicate that diets may be formulated to contain as much as 37.5% WCGF (DM basis).
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0908, USA. pkononoff2@unl.edu
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kononoff
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ivan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Matzke
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Stock
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Klopfenstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005223:Fats / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005983:Glutens / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology*; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D011247:Pregnancy; D014867:Water; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D005223:Fats; D014867:Water; D005983:Glutens