The aim of the study was to estimate the effect of rapeseed pomace and extruded full-fat soya in the diets of dairy cows on changes in the milk fatty acid (FA) profile. The experiment was carried out on 30 dairy cows and divided into two periods: the indoor feeding period and the grazing period. Control diet cows were fed the farm’s total mixed ration (TMR); cows of experimental group 1 (ES) cows were fed the farm’s TMR supplemented with extruded full-fat soya; cows of experimental group 2 (RP) were fed the farm’s TMR supplemented with rapeseed pomace. The total content of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) tended to be lower in the RP and ES groups than in the control group during both feeding periods. Our results suggest that supplementing diets with rapeseed and soybean products are both effective in improving the fatty acid proportion of desirable (hypocholesterolaemic) FAs, mainly oleic acid (18:1n-9), linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLAcis9trans11). The study showed that during the indoor feeding period, the unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) contents were significantly higher in the ES group compared to the control group ( P < 0.05). The nutritional value of milk from the feeding groups in which rations were supplemented with ES or RP was better due to a quartile reduction of the atherogenicity index (AI) and the significantly increased spreadability index (SI) of the butter manufactured during the indoor feeding period ( P < 0.01).

Journal of Animal Science and Technology (JAST) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal publishing original research, review articles and notes in all fields of animal science. Topics covered by the journal include: genetics and breeding, physiology, nutrition of monogastric animals, nutrition of ruminants, animal products (milk, meat, eggs and their by-products) and their processing, grasslands and roughages, livestock environment, animal biotechnology, animal behavior and welfare.

This study evaluated infrared thermography (IRT) as a dual-purpose, non-invasive tool for detecting limb pathology and subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. Surface temperatures were measured at the coffin, pastern, and fetlock regions of all limbs and at the teat surface of all udder quarters. Limb health status was determined by orthopedic clinical examination, and mastitis status was assessed using the California Mastitis Test (CMT). Hindlimbs were significantly warmer than forelimbs in healthy cows (p < 0.001), with confirmed bilateral symmetry (r = 0.524–0.569). Limbs with pathology showed significantly higher temperatures at all anatomical sites, with particularly large effect sizes in the hindlimbs (r around 0.80). Additional lesion-specific analyses demonstrated that both infectious and claw horn lesions exhibited significantly higher temperatures than healthy limbs. In the hindlimbs, infectious lesions showed higher thermographic values than claw horn lesions. CMT-positive quarters showed teat temperatures of 30.0–30.2 °C compared with 25.2–25.8 °C in CMT-negative quarters (p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance for teat surface temperature in identifying CMT-positive quarters, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.956. The optimal threshold was 29.5 °C, corresponding to a sensitivity of 0.992 and a specificity of 0.838. Each 1 °C increase in teat temperature increased the odds of CMT positivity by 5.3-fold (p < 0.001). A practical three-zone thermographic framework was established: <27 °C (healthy), 27–29.5 °C (monitoring recommended), and ≥29.5 °C (mastitis likely). Teat temperature was not associated with composite milk somatic cell count, but hindlimb pathology was independently associated with elevated teat temperatures (partial r = 0.23–0.26, p ≤ 0.001). These findings demonstrate that IRT has strong potential as an integrated screening tool for dairy cow limb health and udder health monitoring.

Rumen microbial fermentation plays a central role in nutrient utilization and milk production in dairy cows. This study evaluated the effects of supplementation with exogenous fibrolytic enzymes, alone or in combination with live yeast on rumen microbiota, fermentation characteristics, nitrogen-related metabolites, and production performance during the transition from outdoor grazing to indoor housing. Thirty Lithuanian Red dairy cows were assigned to control (CTR), enzyme (E), or enzyme plus yeast (YE) treatments across outdoor (OD) and transit (T) periods, while nine cows (three per group) were selected for rumen and microbiota analysis. Rumen bacterial communities were characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and functional parameters were evaluated using linear mixed-effects models. Supplementation resulted in selective changes in several bacterial genera, including Blautia spp., WPS-2, Ruminococcus spp., Erysipelotrichaceae UCG-009, Sharpea spp., uncultured Bacteroidales, and Prevotellaceae UCG-003, and was associated with alterations in fermentation patterns, particularly propionate concentration, and in nitrogen metabolism, including putrescine dynamics. The transition period significantly influenced microbial diversity and total bacterial abundance across treatments. Cows in the YE group maintained higher milk yield during the transition period. Overall, dietary supplementation modulated specific rumen metabolic responses and contributed to production stability without causing large-scale changes in overall microbial structure.