Table 7.

Effects of level and source of fat in the diet of pregnant beef cows during the second and third trimesters of gestation on concentration of blood serum NEFA and β-hydroxy butyrate of the dam

	Treatment1				Contrasts2
	LF	CAN	FLX	SEM	LF vs. HF	CAN vs. FLX
Item	(n = 10)	(n = 10)	(n = 10)
Start of trial
Days until calving, d	183	182	192	4.67	0.47	0.15
NEFA, µEq/L	581	601	574	157	0.92	0.72
BHBA3, mg/dL	13.7	12.6	11.4	1.78	0.35	0.55
End of trial
Days until calving, d	22	22	23	2.80	0.78	0.94
NEFA, µEq/L	592	636	961	56.9	<0.01	<0.01
BHBA, mg/dL	9.75	10.2	8.96	0.96	0.78	0.13

¹LF = low-fat diet; CAN = high-fat diet including canola seed-based pelleted feed; FLX = high-fat diet including flaxseed-based pelleted feed.

²HF = average of CAN and FLX.

³BHBA = β-hydroxy butyrate.