Oral administration of Megasphaera elsdenii to Jersey cows during early lactation

The objective of this study was to determine whether Megasphaera elsdenii orally administered to transition Jersey cows would improve milk yield and reduce the risk for metabolic disease. Thirty primi- and multiparous Jersey cows, blocked according to parity and date of calving, were used in a randomized complete block design until 90 DIM and fed diets with 51% forage and 17.9 to 28.5% starch. Within each block, cows were assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: (1) control (no dose) or (2) 200 mL of Lactipro by oral drenching at 1 to 2 d postpartum (M. elsdenii, 1 × 10⁸ cfu/mL; MSBiotec, Littleton, CO). Cows were housed in tie stalls for 4 wk after calving, in which DMI was measured, and then cows were housed in free stalls for 9 wk. Dry matter intake, BCS, and BW change were similar between treatments, and no treatment by time interactions occurred. There was no difference in milk yield between the treatments. For cows with ≥3 lactations, those dosed with M. elsdenii had greater milk and fat yields than the control cows. No treatment effect or treatment by time interactions were detected for milk fat and protein percentages and feed efficiency. Serum and urine ketones were similar between treatments. Although pre- and postpartum diets fed and management strategies for transition cows may affect whether cows respond to oral administration of M. elsdenii, mature, higher producing cows with ≥3 lactations may respond with increased milk yield when dosed with M. elsdenii.