What Fatty Acids in Dairy Cow Feces may Predict Resistance or Susceptibility to Production-Related Metabolic Diseases

Authors

Brian Melville, Brigham Young University
Beverly Roeder, Brigham Young University

Keywords

fatty acids, dairy cow feces, metabolic disease

College

Life Sciences

Department

Biology

Abstract

Dairy cows supply an important food source for humans, and any disease that hurts production threatens this source. Once a cow has a PRMD (production related metabolic disease) there are many signs and symptoms that are readily observed and tested for, but it would be useful to use diagnostic techniques to discover if an animal is at risk of a future disease when the cow is clinically normal. These diagnostic tools could be used with clinically normal healthy appearing cows, empowering producers to make more informed decisions about animal care to improve milk production. Other exciting possibilities exist, such as breeding cattle to have the disease resistant traits. We can use the information from this research to improve and protect this significant food source.

Recommended Citation

Melville, Brian and Roeder, Beverly (2013) "What Fatty Acids in Dairy Cow Feces may Predict Resistance or Susceptibility to Production-Related Metabolic Diseases," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 1119.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/1119