THE FEATURES OF METABOLIC DISORDERS IN CALVES BORN FROM KETOTIC COWS
The intensification of production contributes to a significant increase of livestock productivity but is accompanied by a significant load on animal body and as a result even minor disruptions in the technological process may lead to the development of metabolic diseases including ketosis. Ketone bodies penetrating through the placental barrier cause fetal intoxication and disrupt its normal development. This leads to the birth of weak and poorly viable young animals susceptible to various diseases during the early postnatal period. The research goal was to study metabolism in young animals (calves) from cows with ketosis. The research was carried out on the training farm on Black-Pied calves. The groups of calves were formed according to the comparability principle: the trial group consisted of calves from cows with acetonemia, and the control group - from healthy cows. Ketosis in cows was diagnosed by urine screening for ketone bodies followed by determining their quantitative levels in the blood. Biochemical blood tests determined the following: total protein, albumins, globulins, glucose, ketone bodies and triglycerides. The tests were run on the 3rd, 10th and 15th days of life. It was found that the study of the metabolic indices in the calves born from ketotic cows differed significantly from those from healthy cows. As compared to the control, on the 3rd day after birth, the calves of the trial group had a significantly higher concentration of acetone bodies (1.05 ± 0.13 mmol L), glucose (5.0 ± 0.47 mmol L) and low content of triglycerides (0.25 ± 0.05 mmol L). By the final examination (the 15th day of life) the young animals born from ketotic cows had a significantly high blood level of ketone bodies (1.26 ± 0.06 mmol L) and lower concentration of triglycerides (0.44 ± 0.02 mmol L), glucose (5.54 ± 0.25 mmol L), and albumin (57.40 ± 4.14%). It is concluded that metabolic disorders in calves born from ketotic cows, as compared to calves from healthy cows, are characterized by dysproteinemia, high ketone body concentration and significantly lower triglyceride levels.