Cow comfort through the transition period

Cleanliness versus cow comfort – an insolvable problem ?

Optimizing Transition Cow Diets

Diet formulation recommendations for transition cows vary widely due to conflicting experimental results, wide variation in feeding programs among well-managed herds, and lack of understanding of the effects of digestion characteristics of feeds on animal response. Physiological changes over the transition period greatly affect feed intake response to diet. Application of a new theory of feed i...

Thermal Comfort in Transition Spaces

Resource depletion and global warming dictate needs to reduce energy consumption, however energy used for the environmental space conditioning of buildings remains substantial; even in well-designed examples. Therefore the ways in which buildings are utilized, and occupant expectations of comfort in building environments should be researched to determine alternative means for optimizing perform...

Nutritional Management of the Transition Cow

The transition period for dairy cows, which refers to the time from 3 weeks before through 3 weeks after calving, is now recognized as the most critical phase of the lactation cycle (Drackley , 1999) . Nutrition and management during this period essentially determine the profitability of th e cow for the remainder of the lactation . A problem-filled transition gets cows off to a poor start to l...

Liver Metabolism and the Transition Cow

The periparturient period of the lactation cycle in dairy cattle is characterized by dramatic changes in nutrient demand that necessitate exquisite coordination of metabolism to meet requirements for energy, glucose, and amino acids by the mammary gland following calving. To meet their energy requirements during the first weeks of lactation, dairy cows mobilize large quantities of fatty acids f...