An assessment on the effects of buffers on the productive, behavioral and metabolic parameters of Holstein dairy cows.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of supplementing sodium bicarbonate or a commercial blend of buffering agents (BBA) comprising calcareous calcitic, magnesium oxide, calcareous algae, and sodium bicarbonate on the productive, behavioral and metabolic parameters of Holstein cows fed starchy diets. Over a 60-day trial period, thirty-six multiparous cows with an average milk yield of 38.84 ± 9.

Zootechnical and health performance of Holstein x Gir crossbred calves.

Crossbreeding is used to increase production and disease resistance in adult animals, and there is no research to assess the performance of animals in the early stages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the zootechnical and health performance of Holstein x Gir calves (½ HG: ½ Dutch ½ Gir and ¾ HG: ¾ Dutch ¼ Gir), from birth to 80 days of age, and compare metabolic parameters between groups. In this sense, calves were monitored for zootechnical parameters; epidemiological indexes such as morbidity, mortality, recurrence of diarrhea, pneumonia, and other diseases; as well as serum concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, total proteins, cholesterol, triglycerides, albumin, urea, and paraoxonase1 (PON1).