| High producing dairy cattle suffer from a negative energy balance (NEB) in early lactation caused by the fact that energy intake is too low to cover the energetic need for maintenance and milk production. NEB has been positively related to metabolic, reproductive and immunological disorders. To decrease the NEB a lot of research has been performed on increasing dietary energy intake, however there is some evidence that not only dietary energy level is important in decreasing NEB and related disorders, but also energy source. So, the aim of the study to determine the effect of dietary energy source (lipogenic vs. glycogenic) on NEB, metabolic disorders, reproduction and health. |
