Journal article
Feeding supplemental 25-hydroxyvitamin D-3 increases serum mineral concentrations and alters mammary immunity of lactating dairy cows
Michael B Poindexter, Mercedes F Kweh, Roney Zimpel, Jorge Zuniga, Camilo Lopera, Marcos G Zenobi, Yun Jiang, Mark Engstrom, Pietro Celi, Jose EP Santos, Corwin D Nelson
Journal of Dairy Science | ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC | Published : 2020
Abstract
Objectives were to determine the effects of feeding supplemental 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] on concentrations of vitamin D metabolites and minerals in serum, mammary immune status, and responses to intramammary bacterial infection in dairy cows. Sixty multiparous, pregnant lactating Holstein cows with somatic cell count <200,000/mL were blocked by days in milk and milk yield and randomly assigned to receive a daily top-dressed dietary supplement containing 1 or 3 mg of vitamin D3 (1mgD or 3mgD), or 1 or 3 mg 25(OH)D3 (1mg25D or 3mg25D) for 28 d (n = 15/treatment). Cows were kept in a freestall barn and fed a total mixed ration in individual feeding gates. Individual dry matter intake (D..
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Grants
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank Wayne Garcia, Natalie Cleghorn, Madelin Pozadas, Teri Williams (University of Florida, Gainesville) and Anastasia Meredith (Florida A&M University, Tallahassee) for technical assistance. Funding was provided from the Milk Checkoff Board of Southeast Milk Inc. (Belleview, FL) and DSM Nutritional Products (Kaiseraugst, Switzerland).