Daily fecal pH pattern and variation in lactating dairy cows

Evidence supports a causal link between anomalous intestinal function and impaired performance in dairy cows. Consequently, digesta pH values obtained from colon, cecum, and rectum are increasingly used to monitor intestinal function in dairy cows. We conducted a study to describe the daily dynamics of fecal pH in lactating dairy cows. The study lasted 4 d and individual records of dry matter intake, milk yield, and fecal pH were taken. Samples of feces were taken every 4 h during the 4-d study, and sampling time was adjusted ahead by 1 h daily so that a sample was obtained for each 1-h interval of the day. Data were analyzed using a mixed-effect model including time as fixed effect and cow as a random factor. We performed a cosinor analysis using pH data at different time points to determine whether fecal pH followed a biorhythmic pattern. On average, cows consumed 19.1 ± 1.55 kg/d of dry matter and produced 26.3 ± 4.16 kg/d of milk. The most relevant results confirmed a biorhythmic pattern for feces pH around feeding time: mesor (midline estimating statistic of rhythm) 6.20, amplitude 0.28, and acrophase 5.66. Additionally, we found a positive relationship between dry matter intake and amplitude, possibly because of an increase in the amount of fermentable carbohydrate reaching the hindgut in response to increasing intake. When using fecal pH as an indicator of intestinal function, it is critical to obtain samples at several time points to capture its daily rhythmicity and to report sampling time relative to feeding.