Subacute Rumen Acidosis in Italian Dairy Herds : Occurence and diagnostic tools

Subacute rumen acidosis (SARA) represent one of the most important metabolic disorders in intensive dairy farms that affects rumen fermentations, animal welfare, productivity and profitability. A practical need for Veterinarians and Food practitioner, is to have a simple and economic method of diagnosis of SARA, in order to implement in a timely manner the appropriate corrective diet, eliminate the causes of arrival of this disorder and avert the danger of progress in the same very high levels. In response to these requests, the aim of this work, was to lead three different studies related to each other but, in order to evaluate the occurrence of subacute rumen acidosis in intensive Italian dairy herds to determine the relationship among diet composition, ruminal pH and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentration, to evaluate the effect of the SARA on some blood parameters in lactating dairy cows and finally to evaluate the effects of rumenocentesis on the health and welfare status of lactating dairy cows, evaluated by physical examination, blood analysis, milk production and superficial temperature on the area of rumenocentesis.