Table 2.

Effects of feeding medium chain fatty acid on the performance of pre-calving, early lactation, and peak lactation cows².

Variable	Treatment1		SEM	P-value
	CON	MCFA		Treatment	Time	Treatment ×Time
Pre-calving2
DMI3 (kg/d)	9.99a	8.77b	0.326	0.05	0.01	0.99
Early lactation2 (kg/d)
DMI	15.02	14.18	0.608	0.42	<0.01	0.38
Milk yield	37.37a	32.56b	1.285	0.02	<0.01	0.38
4% FCM3	41.01	37.21	1.217	0.10	0.03	0.46
ECM3	43.62	38.78	1.351	0.06	0.04	0.37
Efficiency3	2.76	2.74	0.101	0.92	0.51	0.60
Peak lactation2 (kg/d)
DMI	23.25	22.14	0.585	0.29	<0.01	0.78
Milk yield	47.01	43.44	0.977	0.09	0.93	0.99
4% FCM	47.59	47.11	1.119	0.82	0.04	0.60
ECM.	48.65	50.66	1.515	0.51	0.11	0.34
Efficiency	2.04	2.07	0.055	0.80	0.02	0.23

SEM, standard error of mean.

^a-b Means within a row with unlike superscripts differ (P ≤ 0.05).

¹CON, control treatment, basic diet with no medium chain fatty acids, n = 9. MCFA = MCFA treatment, basic diet and medium chain fatty acids 20 g/d, n = 9.

²Pre-calving, from 21 d before calving to calving, early lactation = from 1 d to 28 d after calving, peak lactation = from 29 d to 70 d after calving.

³DMI, dry matter intake, FCM, fat corrected milk; ECM, energy corrected milk; Efficiency, FCM/DMI.