Table 5.
Proportion of primiparous and multiparous cows, percentage BW change, NEFA concentrations, ECM yield, and DMI for cows divided into quartiles based on percentage BW change from parturition to 3 wk postpartum (values presented as mean ± SEM)
| Quartile group1 | P-value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Lost BW+: fourth quartile | Lost BW:third quartile | Maintained BW: second quartile | Gained BW: first quartile | Quartile | Week | Quartile × week |
| n | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | |||
| Primiparous [no. (%)] | 4 (23.5) | 6 (37.5) | 8 (47.1) | 8 (50) | 0.44 | — | — |
| Initial BW (kg) | 644.0 ± 19.7a | 638.6 ± 25.3a | 599.8 ± 18.7a | 550.3 ± 16.7d | 0.03 | — | — |
| Initial BW, primiparous (kg) | 543.7 ± 8.7ab | 539.8 ± 12.0ab | 544.0 ± 22.0a | 502.1 ± 7.6b | 0.12 | — | — |
| Initial BW, multiparous (kg) | 674.8 ± 18.4 | 697.8 ± 24.8 | 649.4 ± 17.2 | 598.5 ± 21.8 | 0.18 | — | — |
| BW change from first to third week (%) | −7.49 ± 0.47d | −2.96 ± 0.17c | −0.96 ± 0.18b | 2.46 ± 0.72a | <0.001 | — | — |
| BW change2 (%) | −6.85 ± 0.32d | −3.50 ± 0.30c | −0.07 ± 0.25b | 2.39 ± 0.32a | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| NEFA2 (mEq/L) | 387.9 ± 27.7 | 299.7 ± 19.8 | 254.7 ± 18.2 | 270.0 ± 19.1 | 0.11 | <0.001 | 0.002 |
| NEFA, first week (mEq/L) | 700.5 ± 89.7b | 415.9 ± 55.3a | 321.4 ± 52.2a | 445.0 ± 66.7a | 0.04 | — | — |
| NEFA, near AI (mEq/L) | 151.2 ± 22.0 | 132.3 ± 13.9 | 149.3 ± 21.9 | 147.2 ± 14.2 | 0.89 | — | — |
| DMI2 (kg/d) | 22.7 ± 0.3ab | 23.5 ± 0.3b | 22.3 ± 0.3ab | 20.7 ± 0.3b | 0.10 | <0.001 | 0.22 |
| ECM2 (kg/d) | 45.2 ± 0.8a | 44.1 ± 0.9a | 37.5 ± 0.8b | 36.3 ± 0.8b | 0.04 | <0.001 | 0.98 |
| ECM, primiparous2 (kg/d) | 33.2 ± 0.9ab | 35.4 ± 0.8a | 31.6 ± 0.6ab | 29.3 ± 0.7b | 0.14 | <0.001 | 0.39 |
| ECM, multiparous2 (kg/d) | 48.9 ± 0.8B | 49.3 ± 1.0B | 42.7 ± 1.1A | 43.3 ± 0.7A | 0.13 | <0.001 | 0.98 |
| Mean P43 concentration at follicular ablation (ng/mL) | 2.24 ± 0.23 | 2.78 ± 0.45 | 2.82 ± 0.26 | 3.19 ± 0.37 | 0.52 | — | — |
| Cows with P4 concentration <0.5 ng/mL at follicular ablation (%) | 5.9 (1/17) | 6.3 (1/16) | 5.9 (1/17) | 12.5 (2/16) | 0.91 | — | — |
a–d
Values within a row with different superscript lowercase letters differ at P < 0.05.
A,B
Values within a row with different superscript capital letters differ at P < 0.15.
1
Fourth quartile = most BW (BW+) loss.
2
Average from calving until embryo collection.
3
P4 = progesterone.