{"id":155,"date":"2017-02-01T23:44:24","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T23:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/?p=155"},"modified":"2017-05-11T17:58:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T00:58:27","slug":"cant-spend-enough-time-sunlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/2017\/02\/01\/cant-spend-enough-time-sunlight\/","title":{"rendered":"When we can\u2019t spend enough time in the sunlight . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

Cattle, like people, can get vitamin D from food and from exposure to the sun. Specifically, vitamin D2<\/sub> is acquired from plants, while vitamin D3<\/sub> is synthesized by cells in sun-exposed skin. Vitamin D availability within the body is often measured as the concentration of 25(OH)D in the blood (serum). 25(OH)D is a product of metabolism of both vitamins D2<\/sub> and D3<\/sub>. With summer sun exposure and no exogenous vitamin D, cows will have 40-100 ng\/mL serum 25(OH)D. For cows without the opportunity to graze out on the range all summer, alfalfa hay can provide pretty significant amounts of vitamin D2<\/sub>, and even corn silage contains some. Additionally, vitamin-mineral supplement mixes usually contain vitamin D3<\/sub>, which is metabolized more efficiently than D2<\/sub>.<\/p>\n

In a study published last year (full citation below), the investigators compared various management practices with 25(OH)D levels across several herds. Levels of vitamin D in the cows and heifers looked pretty good: all herds had 25(OH)D averages above 30 ng\/mL, which is considered the minimum for vitamin D sufficiency. However, the herd that was supplementing at only 20,000 IU\/day (rather than the 30,000-50,000 IU\/day of the others) did have 22% of their cows below that sufficiency threshold.<\/p>\n

The situation for calves in this study wasn\u2019t quite so rosy. Now, newborn calf levels of serum 25(OH)D are typically much lower than in older animals\u2014in this study they averaged 15 ng\/mL. In the six herds examined, 25% of newborn calves had serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 10 ng\/mL. If left uncorrected, these calves in particular could suffer impaired health. If we look at the figure below, we see distinct differences across farms as the calves age. (We\u2019re looking exclusively at the pre-alfalfa-eating stage here.) Spring\/summer sun exposure or supplemental vitamin D in the diet would seem to make a significant difference in a calf\u2019s vitamin D level.<\/p>\n

Given that vitamin D is associated with growth, development, and immune function, this nutrient is required starting with a calf\u2019s first days. Most milk replacers contain adequate vitamin D. If raising calves on milk, one should provide supplemental vitamin D3<\/sub> at a rate of 6000-10,000 IU\/kg of dry matter. Additionally, giving calves a 50,000-100,000 IU bolus of vitamin D3<\/sub> at birth may also be helpful.<\/p>\n

(Before initiating a new treatment or nutrition regimen, you should consult your veterinarian\/nutritionist.)<\/p>\n

Nelson et al. 2016. Vitamin D status of dairy cattle: Outcomes of current practic<\/a>es in the dairy industry. Journal of Dairy Science<\/em> 99:10150-10160.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \"line<\/a>\n
(Modified) Figure 4 from Nelson et al. 2016. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] of Holstein dairy calves according to various housing and nutrition practices. Each point represents the mean and 95% CI of samples from at least 6 calves. The samples collected at 0\u00a0wk of age were collected after colostrum consumption. Open triangles (\u25b3) and dashed line represent calves from a herd in Idaho fed pasteurized waste milk with no supplemental vitamin D3 limited sun exposure (calves were housed in either hutches or barn and samples were collected in winter). Open circles (\u25cb) and dashed line represent calves from a herd in Florida fed pasteurized waste milk with no supplemental vitamin D3 and no direct sun exposure. Filled circles (\u25cf) and solid line represent calves in the same herd that received 150,000 IU of vitamin D3 at birth via injection and pasteurized milk supplement that provided 5,000 IU\/d. Filled diamonds (\u25c6) and solid line represent calves fed whole milk 3 times\/d and kept outdoors in Florida (samples collected in mid-April). Filled squares (\u25a0) and solid line represent calves from a herd in Georgia fed milk replacer containing 6,600 IU\/kg of DM. The calves received 0.8\u00a0kg\/d of milk replacer from 0 to 14\u00a0d and 1.2\u00a0kg\/d milk replacer from 15 to 42\u00a0d and raised under shade. Filled triangles (\u25bc) and solid line represent calves from a herd in Florida kept outdoors in a group pen and fed ad libitum milk replacer containing 11,000 IU of vitamin D3\/kg of DM.<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cattle, like people, can get vitamin D from food and from exposure to the sun. Specifically, vitamin D2 is acquired from plants, while vitamin D3 is synthesized by cells in sun-exposed skin. Vitamin D availability within the body is often measured as the concentration of 25(OH)D in the blood (serum). 25(OH)D is a product of… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1139753],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthwelfare"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions\/255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/dairy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}