The Effect of Frequency of Fresh Pasture Allocation on the Feeding Behaviour of High Production Dairy Cows
Date
2022-01-20
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
For ruminants, grazing and ruminating activities are essential in nutrient capture and
ultimately animal performance however these activities can demand significant time and energy. This
study evaluated the effect of three different pasture allocation frequencies (PAF’s; 12, 24 and 36 h) on
the feeding behaviour of grazing dairy cows. Eighty-seven spring calving dairy cows were divided
into three treatments. Animals were rotationally grazed with fixed paddock sizes of 0.14 ha, 0.28 ha
and 0.42 ha paddocks for the 12 h, 24 h and 36 h treatments, respectively. Animals (14 per treatment)
were fitted with behaviour halters that monitored feeding activity. Diurnal feeding patterns were
evident for all animals irrespective of PAF, concentrating the majority of grazing during daytime
(90%) and ruminating activity during night (73%). Treatment significantly affected feeding behavior
patterns. Peak grazing activity coincided with fresh pasture allocation in the 12 h and 24 h treatments.
In the 36 h treatment, grazing was more evenly distributed over each 24 h period with peak grazing
activity witnessed daily between 17:00 and 19:00 regardless of fresh pasture allocation, suggesting
lack of anticipation of fresh feed delivery. In the 12 h treatment primiparous animals exhibited greater
grazing and ruminating activity relative to multiparous animals in the 12 h treatment highlighting
the impact of competition for resources within each feed on lower dominance animals.
Description
Publication history: Accepted - 17 January 2022; Published - 20 January 2022.
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Article
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Keywords
dairy cows, grazing management, animal behavior, grazing, ruminating, parity
Citation
Pollock, J.G., Gordon, A.W., Huson, K.M. and McConnell, D.A. (2022) ‘The Effect of Frequency of Fresh Pasture Allocation on the Feeding Behaviour of High Production Dairy Cows’, Animals. MDPI AG. doi:10.3390/ani12030243.