Altering caloric intake prepartum influences
postpartum metabolism in dairy cows. Ad libitum
nutrient intake during the entire dry period tended to
increase body weight and BCS prepartum and
predispose cows to increased lipid mobilization in early
lactation (Douglas et al., 2006). Several studies have
evaluated the impact of manipulating the energy density
of the prepartum diet on postpartum performance. In
some cases, nutrient intake was restricted not by altering
the diet formulation but by limiting the amount of feed
offered. Bisinotto et al. (2011) summarized data from
several studies in which the caloric intake prepartum
was manipulated. In general, restricting nutrient intake
resulted in an average reduction of 2 kg/day of fatcorrected
milk, with minor effects on plasma
concentrations of BHBA. In some studies, high caloric
intake resulted in greater triacylglycerol accumulation in
the liver (Douglas et al., 2006; Janovick and Drackley,
2011) because of greater fat mobilization measured as
plasma NEFA. The increased postpartum lipid
mobilization is likely the result of increased milk yield
without a concurrent increase in dry matter intake.
Therefore, restricting caloric intake prepartum can be
used to minimize lipid mobilization and triacylglycerol
accumulation in the liver, but at the expense of milk
production.