The objective of this trial was to investigate the daily variation in the urinary excretions of creatinine and nitrogen compounds in dairy heifers. It was also of particular interest to determine whether or not estimation of microbial protein synthesis is affected by the number of urinary sampling days. Eleven dairy Holstein heifers averaging 287 ± 49 kg of body weight (BW) in the beginning of the trial were used. Samples of urine were collected during six consecutive days using N. 22 or 26 Folley catheters. Number of sampling days was compared by analysis of variance. The model included animal as random and sampling day as fixed effects. Animals were fed corn silage "ad libitum" plus 2 kg of concentrate. Urinary excretions of creatinine, urea, allantoin, uric acid, and total purine derivatives and estimation of microbial protein synthesis were not affected by the number of urinary sampling days. Excretion of creatinine in urine averaged 30.5 mg/kg BW, 124.84 mg/kg0.75 or 1.1 mmol/kg0.75. It can be concluded that no more than 24 h (one sampling day) of urine collection was required to accurate determine excretion of nitrogenous compounds, which has important practical applications due to labor and costs reductions.
microbial protein; urinary collection; urinary volume
