Short communication: Associations between nonesterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, and glucose in periparturient dairy goats

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to use longitudinal data to examine the relationships between blood concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and glucose during the transition period in dairy goats. Weekly blood samples were collected from Saanen goats from a commercial herd in Australia [1–7 yr; body weight 70 ± 16.0 kg; body condition score 2.5 ± 0.3; and daily milk yield 2.4 ± 0.73 L/d; all mean ± standard deviation (SD)]. The weekly prevalence of goats above hyperketonemic levels (BHB ≥0.8 mmol/L) was approximately 6 times greater postpartum than antepartum. As well, of the 935 goats sampled antepartum, 50 (5%) had at least 1 hyperketonemic event, and 823 (88%) had at least 1 event of NEFA above the threshold (≥0.3 mmol/L). Of 847 goats tested postpartum, 258 (30%) had at least 1 hyperketonemic event, and 690 goats (81%) had at least 1 event of NEFA above the threshold (≥ 0.7 mmol/L). Substantial variation was found when analyzing the mean days of maximum NEFA and maximum BHB concentrations antepartum (−11 ± 6.6 and −14 ± 7.2 d, respectively, mean ± SD) and postpartum (14 ± 6.6 and 9 ± 6.8 d, respectively, mean ± SD). We observed moderate to strong relationships between NEFA and BHB concentrations (r = 0.66) and between NEFA and glucose concentrations (r = −0.46) throughout the transition period. Our results suggested that 3 to 16 d in milk is the best sampling window for monitoring hyperketonemia in dairy goats, and that results from simultaneous BHB and glucose tests provide an improved indication of the fat mobilization and energy status of the herd when measured close to this timeframe.