EFFECT OF ENCAPSULATED CHOLINE CHLORIDE ON MILK PERFORMANCE AND FEED INTAKE OF DAIRY COWS IN TRANSITION PERIOD

Last year NOREL developed a coated (rumen-protected) choline chloride called BYCHOL®. This product was tested in a trial done in the experimental dairy farm Blanca de los Pirineos in the northeast of Spain in a collaborative work with Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA). The results were presented at the Virtual Annual Meeting 2020 of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of coated choline chloride (Chol) on the performance of dairy cows in the transition period.

Sixty Holstein cows (606±84 kg BW; 21 primiparous (PMC) and 39 multiparous (MPC) cows) were randomly distributed in 2 groups (n=30) and exposed for 60 days to 2 treatments following a complete randomized design. Treatments consisted of supplementation with 60 g/d of Chol (CLN) 3 weeks before and after calving, or no supplementation in the group control (CTR). Cows were fed a TMR during the dry period (12.2% CP, 57.3% NDF, 1.30 Mcal of NEl/kg; DM basis) and a TMR during the fresh period (15.3% CP, 32.2% NDF, 1.69 Mcal of NEl/kg; DM basis) twice daily. On a daily basis, dry matter intake, milk yield, and milk fat and protein content were determined individually. Animal was the experimental unit and data were analyzed using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures.

Feed intake and milk yield were affected by an interaction (P < 0.01) among treatment, week, and parity, which resulted in lower DMI but high milk yield in MPC on CLN compared with MPC on CTR during some days of early lactation. Milk fat content (%) and yield (kg/d) were affected by an interaction (P < 0.01) among treatment, week, and parity, with MPC on CLN having greater milk fat content and yield than MPC on CTR during a few days of early lactation. Milk protein yield (kg/d) was affected by an interaction (P < 0.01) among treatment, week and parity, with MPC on CLN having greater milk protein yield the last week of the trial. As result, ECM was affected by an interaction among treatment, week, and parity.

It was concluded that the supplementation with BYCHOL® during the transition period has potential to improve milk yield, milk fat content, milk fat yield, and ECM, but also decreases DMI during some days during early lactation in MPC, but not in PMC, without affecting feed efficiency.