Effects of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin on Nutritional Status of Dairy Cows During Pregnancy and of Their Calves

¹ Department of Animal Science, Macdonald College of McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, PQ, Canada H9X 1C0

Objectives of this trial were to evaluate effects of rbST on the nutritional status of 24 Holstein cows during pregnancy and of their calves from birth to weaning. All cows conceived during injection with either a placebo or 350 mg of rbST in a sustained-release vehicle every 14 d commencing 98 to 112 d postpartum for their entire lactation. In Experiment 1, blood samples were collected at 90, 180, and 270 d postconception in cows. Concentrations of urea, glucose, albumin, total proteins, Ca, P, insulin, cortisol, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were unaffected by treatment as well as BW, body condition scores, and energy balances at conception and during pregnancy. Days open and calving interval were not significantly different but were numerically increased by 31 d in rbST-injected cows. Nonesterified fatty acids, bST, and insulin-like growth factor-I in plasma were elevated significantly in rbST-injected cows. In Experiment 2, blood samples were collected at birth and at 1, 3, 5, and 7 wk in calves born from cows of Experiment 1. Circulating concentrations of glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, albumin, total proteins, hemoglobin, insulin, cortisol, bST, insulin-like growth factor-I, and hematocrit, blood pH, blood gases and buffer capacity, birth weight and rate of weight gain, height at withers, and heart girth from birth to weaning were not different due to treatment of dam. However, some parameters were significantly different based on age and sex. These data support previous assumptions that the magnitude of the modifications in nutrient partitioning produced by rbST do not affect the hierarchy of the partitioning process for the calf.

Key Words: somatotropin • nutritional status • pregnancy

Submitted on February 22, 1990
Accepted on July 2, 1990