Faecal microbiota of dairy cows fed leftover bakery by-products

Leftover bakery by-products (BP) from bakeries and supermarkets may serve as energy-rich ingredient in ruminant diets. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the successive substitution of cereal grains by BP on dry matter intake, milk production, metabolic health as well as ruminal pH, eating and chewing behavior of dairy cows. The effects of heat exposure during baking are likely to affect total tract digestibility, fermentation in hindgut and fecal microbiome. Twenty-four lactating Simmental cows were fed a total-mixed ration containing a ratio of 50:50 forage to concentrate throughout the experiment (35 d). During the first week, all cows received a control diet (without BP) as a baseline. In the next four weeks, cows were allocated into three groups differing in the BP-concentrations of diets (0% BP = CON, 15% BP and 30% BP on DM basis)