Two trials were conducted to examine factors
potentially influencing the measurement of blood
β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) in dairy cows. The objective
of the first trial was to study effects of sampling
time on BHBA concentration in continuously fed dairy
cows. Furthermore, we determined test characteristics
of a single BHBA measurement at a random time of
the day to diagnose subclinical ketosis considering commonly
used cut-points (1.2 and 1.4 mmol/L).