Studies on the secretion of milk of low fat content by cows on diets low in hay and high in concentrates. VII. The effect of administration of volatile fatty acids to cows giving normal milk and milk of low fat content
Balch, C.C.; Rowland, S.J.
J. Dairy Res 26(2): 162-72
1959
Accession: 014210718
A series of trials is described in which various volatile fatty acids were administered to cows fed (i) various normal rations, or (if) various high-concentrate low-fibre rations. Daily administration of 500 g. sodium acetate had no effect on the butterfat % of milk from cows on a normal diet. Administration of 500.1, 500 g. sodium acetate to cows with a depressed butterfat % caused by a low-fibre diet resulted in partial or complete recovery of butterfat % in most cases; Reichert-Meissl value was similarly affected. Sodium butyrate, in a test with one cow, also had a restorative effect on butterfat %, but administration of sodium propionate did not have this effect. In a further trial, cows were fed either 50 lb. silage as the sole roughage or 60 lb. fodder beet and 6 lb. hay, or a normal diet containing 16 lb. hay; treatments did not affect the butterfat content of the milk. (See D.S.A. 18 p.