Date of Award

2017

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Awarded

Master of Science (MS)

Program

Animal Sciences

Department

Animal Sciences

College

Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources

Faculty Advisor

Vonnahme, Kimberly A.

Description

Overwintered, gestating beef cows fed low-quality forage are at risk of nutrient restriction which can lead to compromised growth and poor carcass quality in their offspring. In many species, poor maternal nutrition also results in reduced uteroplacental hemodynamics and fetal growth. To better understand how different nutritional paradigms influence the beef cow, our lab has examined the impacts of nutrient restriction and diet composition on uterine hemodynamics. Previous research suggests that dietary intake or protein supplementation alone does not increase uterine blood flow. The current study examined the effects of dietary starch supplementation and our findings indicate that increasing starch composition of the diet does not alter uterine hemodynamics or fetal growth. Perhaps, a more successful feeding strategy could include a balanced protein to energy ratio and ad libitum access to forage, allowing the cows to increase intake without the substitution effect documented in this study. These ideas merit further investigation.

Rights

NDSU policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0003-0326-7096

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/28368

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