Effect of oil and tannin supplementation on intake, milk yield and milk composition of dairy cows

Abstract

Supplementation of oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and condensed tannin has been known as a feeding approach to improve healthy fatty acids in ruminant milk, but it can cause an adverse effect on feed intake and animal performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of feeding oil alone or in combination with grape seed tannin extract (GSTE) on feed intake, milk yield and composition of dairy cows. Sixteen low production dairy cows in mid-lactation fed a basal diet based on agro-industrial by-products were arranged to a completely randomized design for a 6-week duration. Animals were fed basal diet without oil and GSTE inclusion (CON), 2.5% DM soybean oil (SBO), 2.5% DM blend of soybean oil and tuna fish oil at 3:2 w:w (SFO), or SFO plus 0.4% DM GSTE (OCT). The results showed that DM intake was reduced (P < 0.05) by 14.4% in OCT relative to CON. Milk yield was not affected by oil and GSTE supplementation, but SFO and OCT strongly depressed milk fat, protein and total solids (P < 0.001). In conclusion, in a low production cow diet based on agro-industrial by-products containing high lipid, supplementation of oil and GSTE should be considered in the aspects of feed intake and milk composition.