Author(s)

Malcolm Ballard^1*, Anthony T. Byrd²

¹The Ballard Group, Inc. 6075 Miami Rd., Cincinnati, OH, USA.
²Anthony T. Byrd ATB Specialty Products, Inc. 5813 Greencrest Drive, Hamilton, OH, USA.

Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to support reproductive performance in dairy cows, but large amounts are needed due to ruminal biohydrogenation of fatty acids. Three long-term large herd feeding trials, two with heifers and one with mature cows, were conducted to evaluate the effects of adding a rumen protected fish oil supplement on reproduction. In all trials, there were over 1000 animals eligible to be bred/treatment. Cows received a ration with 40 g of a rumen protected fish oil supplement (Salmate^® the Ballard Group, Cincinnati Ohio) during the test periods, while controls received no supplementation. The additive was provided to the test cows from the onset of lactation until 90 ± 5 days in milk. Cows entering the pen on or after the first day of the study were included in the dataset. Individual cow records were compiled by Dairy Herd Improvement Association (National DHIA, Verona WI USA) were compared to records from the same time period the year prior. Results were compared using ANOVA for single mean variables and Fisher’s exact test for proportional data. In trials 1 and 2 involving heifers, pregnancy rates were improved (22.4% vs 14.8% in trial 1 and 22.0 vs 17.8% in trial 2, (p < 0.05)). In both cases the improved pregnancy rate could be attributed to higher numbers of cattle bred that became pregnant (P < 0.05), resulting in fewer services/conception (P < 0.05). Early embryonic abortion rates were under 2% in trial 1 and did not differ by treatment. Embryonic abortions rates were 9.2% for the control group as compared to 5.6% for the test group in trial 2, but failed to reach significance. There were no differences in pregnancy rates for the mature cows evaluated in trial 3 (P > 0.05). However, early embryonic abortion rates were 16.8 during the control period, as compared to 4.7% during the test feeding period. The rumen protected omega 3 fatty acid supplement was found to be of benefit to reproductive performance in dairy cows. The supplement may improve the percentage of cattle bred that become pregnant in herds where this metric is low. Early term abortions may be lowered, particularly in herds where this is high.

Encapsulation, Omega-3, Dairy Cow Reproduction

Ballard, M. and Byrd, A. (2018) Evaluation of a Rumen Protected Omega 3 Supplement for Reproduction in Dairy Cows as Determined in Three Large Herd Field Trials. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 8, 346-355. doi: 10.4236/ojas.2018.83026.