Alterations in the Rumen liquid, Particle and Epithelium associated microbiota of dairy cows during the transtion from a silage and concentrate based ration to pasture in spring

The transition from indoors to outdoors is a stressful period for dairy cows. The diet changes occurring during this time cause a dysbiosis of the rumen microbiota. Rumen microbiota plays a key role in adaption to a new ration. The hypothesis is that the effects of a transition from a TMR to a pasture-based ration would also be mirrored in the different rumen archaea and bacteria communities. This study investigated how the archaea and bacteria communities are affected by the ration change.

By Melanie Schären, Kerstin Kiri, Susanne Riede, Mark Gardener, Ulrich Meyer, Jürgen Hummel, Tim Urich, Gerhard Breves, and Sven Dänicke.