Faecal microbiota of lactating dairy cows during high-grain challenge

Feeding high-grain diets often results in subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) and dysbiosis increasing the risk of systemic metabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to determine effect of high-grain feeding on the faecal microbiota, hindgut fermentation, and the plasma metabolome of early lactating dairy cows. Twenty-four lactating Simmental cows were enrolled in this study. Cows were first fed a baseline diet with 60:40 forage:concentrate ratio (DM basis) for 14 days, then switched to a 40:60 forage:concentrate diet for four weeks to induce a SARA challenge