Effects of feeding algal meal high in docosahexaenoic acid on feed intake, milk production, and methane emissions in dairy cows

Abstract

This study examined effects on milk yield and composition, milk fatty acid concentrations and methane (CH4) emissions when dairy cows were offered diets containing different amounts of algal meal. The algal meal contained 20% docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and cows were offered either 0, 125, 250, or 375g/cow per d of algal meal corresponding to 0, 25, 50, or 75g of DHA/cow per d. Thirty-two Holstein cows in mid lactation were allocated to 4 treatment groups, and cows in all groups were individually offered 5.9kg of dry matter (DM) per day of concentrates [683g/kg of cracked wheat (Triticum aestivum), 250g/kg of cold-pressed canola, 46g/kg of granulated dried molasses, and 21g/kg of mineral mix] and ad libitum alfalfa (Medicago sativa) hay. The algal meal supplement was added to the concentrate allowance and was fed during the morning and afternoon milking, whereas the alfalfa hay was fed individually in pens. Cows were gradually introduced to their diets over 7d and then fed their treatment diets for a further 16d. Dry matter intake and milk yield were measured daily, and milk composition was measured on a sample representative of the daily milk yield on Thursday of each week. For the last 2d of the experiment, cows were individually housed in respiration chambers to allow measurement of CH4 emissions. Dry matter intake, milk yield and milk composition were also measured while cows were in the respiration chambers. Cows ate all their offered concentrates, but measured intake of alfalfa decreased with increasing dose of DHA by 16.2, 16.4, 15.1, and 14.3kg of DM/d, respectively. Milk yield (22.6, 23.5, 22.6, and 22.6kg/cow per d) was not affected by DHA dose, but milk fat concentrations (49.7, 37.8, 37.0, and 38.3g/kg) and, consequently, milk fat yields (1.08, 0.90, 0.83, and 0.85kg/d) decreased with addition of DHA. The feeding of algal meal high in DHA was associated with substantial increases in the concentrations of DHA (0.04, 0.36, 0.60, and 0.91g/100g of milk fatty acids) and conjugated linoleic acid C18:2 cis-9,trans-11 (0.36, 1.09, 1.79, and 1.87g/100g of milk fatty acids). Addition of DHA did not affect total emissions of CH4 (543, 563, 553, and 520g/cow per d), nor emissions in terms of milk production (24.9, 22.1, 24.3, and 23.4g of CH4/kg of milk), but emissions were increased with respect to total intake (22.6, 23.5, 24.5, and 24.4g of CH4/kg of DM). These findings indicate that CH4 emissions were not reduced when dairy cows were fed a forage-based diet supplemented with DHA from algal meal.