Effects of antioxidants and prebiotics as vegetable pellet feed on production performance, hematological parameters and colostrum immunoglobulin content in transition dairy cows

Abstract

This research study addresses the hypothesis that supplementation of vegetable pellet feed (VPF) affects the quantity and quality of performance, blood parameters, and colostrum immunoglobulin concentration in dairy cows during the transition period. A total of 18 multiparous Holstein dairy cows were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: 1- Control (basal diet; 0 g VPF/cow/day), 2-VPF10 (basal diet+ 10 g VPF/cow/day), and 3-VPF20 (basal diet+ 20 g VPF/cow/day). Cows were treated for 2 weeks before calving until 10 weeks after calving. Results showed that the VPF supplementation tends to increased milk yield (P =.09) and milk protein percentage linearly (P