Prevalence of subacute ruminal acidosis in some dairy herds of Khorasan Razavi province, northeast of Iran

Document Type : Full paper (Original article)

Authors

1 Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

2 Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

4 Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

To estimate the prevalence of subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in dairy cows, a total of 196 ruminal
fluid samples were drawn by rumenocentesis from 10 dairy herds of Khorasan Razavi province, northeast of
Iran. Two groups of 12 cows, early lactation and mid-lactation cows were sampled in each dairy herd and
ruminal pH was determined immediately using a portable pH-meter. A total of 54 cows (27.6%) were found
to be experiencing SARA. No significant differences were found between SARA affected and non-affected
cows in ruminal contractions, faecal quality and fat and protein components of milk.

Keywords