Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T05:17:15.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effects of fish oil supplementation to dairy cattle on milk fat content and composition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

T.W.J. Keady
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR, Northern Ireland, U.K.
C.S. Mayne
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR, Northern Ireland, U.K.
Get access

Abstract

A partially balanced changeover design experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effects of level of fish oil inclusion in the diet on milk fat concentration and composition when offered to 50 lactating dairy cows in early lactation, which were offered either 5 or 10 kg concentrates/cow/day. Concentrates were formulated to contain similar concentrations of crude protein (CP), effective rumen degradable protein (ERDP) digestible undegradable protein and starch and to provide 0 (T0), 150 (T150), 300 (T300) or 450 (T450) g fish oil/cow/day or 300 g (T300B) fish oil/cow/day from a commercial fish oil premix. All animals were offered 5 kg treatment concentrate in two equal feeds through the in-parlour feeder at each milking. Additionally, cows offered the higher level of concentrates received a further 5 kg of T0 concentrate in two equal feeds per day through out-of-parlour feeders. Increasing the level of fish oil increased milk yield (P<0.01) and decreased the concentrations of fat (P<0.001) and protein (P<0.001). Increasing the level of fish oil decreased the concentrations of C6:0, C8:0, C10:0, C16:0, C14:0 and C18:0 and increased the concentrations of C18:1t, C20:0, C20:1, C20:4w6, C18:2c, C23:0, C20:5w3 and C18:2t. Relative to T300, T300B significantly decreased the concentrations of C20:4w6, but did not alter any of the other fatty acids. The transfer from feed to milk of EPA and DHA averaged 0.61 and 0.19 respectively across the three levels of fish oil supplementation. For T300 the efficiency of transfer of EPA was higher while the efficiency of transfer of DHA was lower to that for T300B. It is concluded that increasing fish oil supplementation decreased milk fat concentration by up to 15 g/kg. Also feeding fish oil is an efficient method of increasing EPA in the human diet through transfer into milk.

Type
Offered Papers
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Agricultural and Food Research Council 1993. Energy and Protein Requirements of Ruminants. CAB International, Wallingford, Oxford.Google Scholar
Beitz, D.C. and Davis, C.L. 1964). Relationship of certain milk fat depressing diets to changes in the proportions of the volatile fatty acids produced in the rumen. Journal of Dairy Science 47: 12131216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chilliard, Y. and Doreau, M. 1997. Influence of supplementary fish oil and rumen protected methionine on milk yield and composition in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Research 64: 173179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy 1991. The nutritional aspects of cardiovascular disease. Report on Health and Social Subjects No. 46.Google Scholar
Nicholson, J.W.J. and Sutton, J.D. 1971. Some effects of unsaturated oils given to dairy cows with rations of different roughage content. Journal of Dairy Research 38: 363372.Google Scholar