Pine needle abortion in cattle: effects of diet variables on consumption of pine needles and parturition response

Cows that consume needles from Pinus ponderosa (PN) abort, but little is known about variables that affect consumption or response. These experiments were conducted to test the effects of several variables on pine needle-induced abortion. Cows were placed on experiment at 250 d of pregnancy and were either given ad libitum (AL) access to PN separate from other feed sources or the PN were ground and fed (2 kg.cow-1.d-1) mixed with the diet. In Exp. 1, cows were assigned to a 2 x 2 factorial experiment with adequate (AP) vs high-protein (HP) diets and no straw vs AL straw (S). All cows ate PN and aborted, and there were no effects (P > .5) on interval to parturition (IP). Consumption of PN (kg/d) was increased by HP (P < .1). In Exp. 2, cows were assigned to five treatments to test the effects on response to PN of magnesium supplementation, weathering the PN, and using silage rather than hay as the basal diet. Consumption of PN shortened IP (P < .01), but magnesium, weathering PN, and silage-based diets did not decrease the response to PN (P > .5). In Exp. 3, cows were assigned to five treatments to test the effects of aging needles after they were ground, feeding bentonite, and feeding a complete mineral supplement. Pine needles decreased IP (P < .01), and the effects of PN were greater when PN were aged or bentonite or minerals were added (all P < .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)