Abstract:

Periparturition is the most critical period of lactation cycle and even the whole life of cows. The feeding management of periparturition has impacts on milking performance, reproductive performance and health status of cows in the whole lactation period. In view of the research about the nutrition and physiology of periparturition cows in recent years, especially that calcium homeostasis of cows during close-up period has been attached with more and more attention, negative DCAD (dietary cation-anion difference) diet or anionic diet has been widely promoted and applied in foreign farms as a beneficial exploration. Based on the comprehensive description of calcium homeostasis, absorption and release rules and the characteristics of negative DCAD diets, this article puts forward production recommendations for the application of negative DCAD diets. On the basis of reasonable DMI (dry matter intake), a combination of negative DCAD diets and high calcium levels is commonly used currently. Set the DCAD level of -100 to -150 meq/kg, combined with the high magnesium content of about 0.4% and low phosphorus level, the corresponding urine pH should be 5.5 to 6.5.

Key words: periparturition, cows, calcium, negative DCAD diet, hypocalcemia, production application