Evaluation of Net Energy Expenditures of Dairy Cows According to Body Weight Changes over a Full Lactation

Equations that predict daily dry matter intake (DMI) of a lactating cow could be evaluated by comparing the predicted accumulation of energy in body weight (BW) over the course of lactation with the observed BW evolution. However, to do so requires that first the energy balance calculations from observed DMI are evaluated. The purpose of the work reported here was to determine the degree of deviation of predicted from observed BW, according to net energy for lactation (NEL) balance calculated from weekly observations of DMI, BW, and fat-corrected milk production in 21 sets of full-lactation data, and to determine an appropriate correction of the NEL bias for subsequent DMI prediction evaluations. When the National Research Council maintenance equation 0.08 × BW(kg)0.75 was used in energy balance calculation, BW was overpredicted with an increasing difference between the cumulative predicted BW and observed BW as lactation progressed. Placing all the error of BW prediction into maintenance energy expenditures resulted in a best-fit equation of 0.096 ± 0.003 Mcal/kg of BW0.75. A time-dependent equation was also developed, in which weekly maintenance expenditures were determined as the NEL expenditure to yield a zero NEL balance and could be described by a second-order polynomial equation related to week of lactation (WOL) where maintenance NEL = [−0.0227(± 0.0098) × WOL2 + 1.352(± 0.456) × WOL + 78.09(± 4.92) Mcal/kg of BW0.75] × 10−3. Average maintenance energy expenditure at the onset of lactation was approximately 0.08 Mcal/kg of BW0.75, and this value increased to a plateau at wk 15 of lactation of approximately 0.098 Mcal/kg of BW0.75. Standard deviations between data sets of weekly maintenance parameter estimates throughout lactation were large but consistent at approximately 25% of the mean. Revision of the maintenance energy expenditure estimate substantially improved BW prediction by the energy balance model. On average, the 0.096 Mcal of NEL/kg of BW0.75 equation resulted in the best BW predictions, although substantial variation existed around this value.