Animals (Basel) 2022 May 26;12(11). Epub 2022 May 26.
Department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
We previously reported that feeding Se-biofortified alfalfa hay to weaned beef calves in a preconditioning program increases whole-blood Se (WB-Se) concentrations and nasal microbiome abundance and diversity during the preconditioning period, decreases morbidity and mortality during the feedlot period, and increases carcass weight and quality at slaughter. The objective of the current study was to see whether similar improvements can be achieved through Se supplementation of dams during various pregnancy trimesters. In a two-year experimental study, 80 Angus-cross cows received once-weekly Se-yeast boluses containing 105 mg of Se, during either the first (TR-1), second (TR-2), or third (TR-3) pregnancy trimester, or were not bolused (CTR). Read More