Effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation to first-calf beef heifers during late gestation on offspring physiology and performance.

Summary

Forty-four pregnant Angus first-calf heifers (initial body weight [BW] = 490 ± 8 kg, body condition score [BCS] = 5.4 ± 0.06) were selected and assigned to the experiment at the end of their second trimester of gestation. From d 0 until calving, first-calf heifers were gathered and individually fed three times a week with dry distillers' grain (DDG; 3.5 kg/heifer per feeding; as-fed basis) + treatments. Treatments were: 1) 234 g/heifer per feeding of Ca salts of PUFA based on eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids (OMG, Strata; Virtus Nutrition LLC, Corcoran, CA; n = 22), or 2) 234 g/heifer per feeding of Ca salts of saturated and monosaturated fatty acids based on palmitic and oleic acids (CON; EnerGII, Virtus Nutrition; n = 22). From d -11 (d of gestation 192 ± 5.1) to ca