AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Rod Martin, an independent consultant and dairy nutritionist. Martin also has extensive experience as a technical support specialist with Protekta in the use of X-Zelit. This episode of Have You Herd? was developed by the AABP Nutrition Committee.
Prevention of hypocalcemia in dairy cows continues to be important and Martin reviews the historical preventive strategies including feeding low calcium diets to prefresh cows and the use of dietary cation-anion difference diets (DCAD). X-Zelit is a phosphorous binder that uses a different approach to manage and prevent hypocalcemia.
Martin reviews the primary considerations veterinarians should understand to help clients utilize X-Zelit in their pre-fresh diets including feeding rates, minimum and maximum days to feed, use in primiparous cattle, and monitoring.
If you are interested in beef or dairy nutrition, we encourage you to join the AABP Nutrition Committee. Find information at this link.
X-Zelit feeding chart: https://aabp.org/resources/2026/X-Zelit_Quick_Reference_2025.pdf
Walter Grünberg. Phosphorus Metabolism During Transition. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract. 2023;39(2):261-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2023.02.002.
Frizzarini W, Monteiro P, Campolina J, et al. Mechanisms by which feeding synthetic zeolite A and dietary cation-anion difference diets affect mineral metabolism in multiparous Holstein cows: Part I. J Dairy Sci. 2024;107:5204-5221.
https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-24056
Frizzarini W, Campolina J, Vang A, et al., Mechanisms by which feeding synthetic zeolite A and dietary cation-anion difference diets affect feed intake, energy metabolism, and milk performance: Part II. J Dairy Sci. 2024;107:5222-5234.
https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-24057
Kerwin A, Ryan C, Leno B, et al. Effects of feeding synthetic zeolite A during the prepartum period on serum mineral concentration, oxidant status, and performance of multiparous Holstein cows. J Dairy Sci. 2019;102:5191-5207.
https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-16272
