Use of Protected Fats in Animal Nutrition

Rumen protected fats are often included in dairy cow rations in order to increase the energy density of the ration without compromising rumen function. Cows undergo metabolic changes during heat stress, which may lead to decreases in dry matter (DM) intake and subsequent declines in performance. In an attempt to minimize the negative affects of these changes and maintain high lactation performance, use of supplemental protected fat is increasing in popularity in the dairy industry. In various studies, the effects of protected fats have been examined, with some of those reporting an improvement in various fertility parameters. Rumen-protected fats as feed ingredients for lactating ruminants have been widely tested in many experiments. The main effects recorded are higher milk yield, improved milk fat content, and modified fatty acid composition of the milk fat. Additional effects, such as decreased milk protein content. Generally, inclusion of fat in dairy ration is limited to 3% of dry matter intake as beyond this, dry matter and fibre digestibilities are reduced. However, if supplementation of fat is through rumen protected fat, the fat content of the ration can be increased up to 6–7% of the dry matter intake. When fed to ruminants in the form of calcium salts of fatty acids, they have been shown to increase plasma cholesterol and progesterone levels which, in turn, could have beneficial effects on ovulation rate and embryo quality. In this paper, feeding studies on the protected fat used in animal nutrition have been reviewed.