Oregano Extract Added into the Diet of Dairy Heifers Changes Feeding Behavior and Concentrate Intake

Table 3

Mean physiological measurements, performance, and dry matter intake of heifers receiving different doses of oregano extract with corresponding significance levels.

Items	Treatments (g of Oregano extract/heifer/day)					SEM
	0	2.5	5.0	7.5
Urine pH	8.3	8.0	8.3	8.2	0.47	0.1
RT (°C)	38.6	38.6	38.6	38.6	0.64	0.0
RR (breaths/min)	46.4	45.0	45.7	46.4	0.54	1.0
HR (beats/min)					<0.01	2.4
Concentrate DMI (kg/day)					<0.01	0.0
Total DMI (% of BW)	2.8	2.7	3.3	2.5	0.18	0.7
Total DMI (kg/day)	13.5	13.4	14.7	12.2	0.18	2.0
Average daily gain (kg)	0.64	0.70	0.65	0.75	0.84	0.1
BCS (1–5)	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.8	0.63	0.0
BW (kg)	499	502	462	502	0.80	11.9

HR = heart rate; RR = respiratory rate; RT = rectal temperature; DMI = dry matter intake; BCS = body condition score; BW = body weight.
SEM = standard error of the mean.
within a row with different superscripts differ significantly at .