Effects of timing of palmitic acid supplementation during early lactation on nutrient digestibility, energy balance, and metabolism of dairy cows

The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of timing of palmitic acid (C16:0) supplementation during early lactation on nutrient digestibility, energy intake and balance, and metabolic responses of dairy cows. Fifty-two multiparous cows were used in a randomized complete block design experiment. During the fresh (FR) period (1–24 d in milk) cows were assigned to either a control diet containing no supplemental fat (CON) or a C16:0-supplemented diet [PA; 1.5% of diet dry matter (DM)]. During the peak (PK) period (25–67 d in milk) cows were assigned to either a CON diet or a PA diet (1.5% of diet DM) in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments considering the diet that they received during the FR period. During the FR period, compared with CON, PA increased DM digestibility by 3.0 percentage units and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility by 4.4 percentage units, and the increase in these variables was consistent over time. Although PA did not affect 18-carbon fatty