Review: Feeding behaviour of dairy cattle: Meaures and applications

Keyserlingk, M.A.G. von; Weary, Dan

doi:10.4141/cjas09127

Cited by 49 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Social facilitation may also have played a role, as cows could have been motivated to go to the rack and eat while seeing other cows doing so. It is known that feeding behaviour within a group of intensively managed cows is usually highly synchronized, with delivery of fresh feed appearing to be the primary factor stimulating feeding (von Keyserlingk and Weary, 2010). Therefore, seeing other cows eating, while not getting anything to eat, may have been frustrating and possibly stressful for the cows undergoing the delay procedure, and this may be the major cause of the results found in the present study.…”

Section: Food Delay In Dairy Cowsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Effects of a Delay in Feed Delivery on Behaviour, Milk Yield and Heamatological Parameters of Dairy Cows

Normando

Mantovani

Marinelli

et al. 2013

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a delay (at 09:30 instead of 07:30 h) in Total Mixed Ration (TMR) delivery on the behaviour, milk yield, and haematological parameters in dairy cows. Twelve healthy Italian Holstein cows, divided into two homogeneous groups of six each, were involved. The TMR delay was applied either for one (on Tuesday; single delay, SD) or for three consecutive days (Tuesday to Thursday; repeated delay, RD) to one group at a time while the other acted as control. A week of pause was interposed between treatments and the order of the treatment was randomised. Behaviour was observed by instantaneous scan sampling every 2 min during seven half-hour periods on Tuesday and Thursday and blood samples were taken at 14:30 h on these days. Milk yield was recorded daily. Data were analysed by a mixed models for repeated measurements. The delay caused a marked increase in activities towards the feeding rack prior to feeding on day 1 when delay was applied both as SD (P<0.01) and RD (P<0.05). On the third day of delay, pre-and post-meal agonistic behaviour increased in delayed cows (P<0.01). Milk yield and blood parameters were not affected by the delay. Results suggest that a two hours delay in feeding can affect behaviour in cows, increasing behavioural patterns, which may be a sign of mild frustration.

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Section: Food Delay In Dairy Cowsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Effects of a Delay in Feed Delivery on Behaviour, Milk Yield and Heamatological Parameters of Dairy Cows

Normando

Mantovani

Marinelli

et al. 2013

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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“…However, dairy cattle have been described to be allelomimetic, preferring to perform the same activity at the same time as herd mates, including resting, eating, and drinking (Miller and Wood-Gush, 1991). Feeding behavior in particular is highly synchronized in housed cattle, with fresh feed delivery as the primary factor that stimulates eating (von Keyserlingk and Weary, 2010). Therefore, even though the stocking density in the overcrowded pens allowed all cows adequate time in the day to perform desired behaviors, not being able to do so collectively potentially limited the time spent eating and lying for some animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of prepartum feeding and lying space on metabolic health and immune function

Miltenburg

Duffield

Bienzle

et al. 2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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The determinants of metabolic and reproductive health disorders in the peripartum period and the degree to which feeding and lying space and management can influence health are only partially understood. The objective of this randomized controlled study was to determine whether providing noncompetitive feeding and lying access in the close-up dry period improves health and immune function. Forty-eight Holstein cows of all parities were randomly assigned to a treatment group of 6 to 10 cows in 1 pen with either 80% cows to stalls and 90 cm of feeding space per cow (understocked) or 120% stocking density and 45 cm of feeding space per cow (overstocked) for 3 wk before expected calving. All cows wore electronic data loggers to monitor daily standing and lying time. Video recordings representing d 7 to 9 after group formation were reviewed, and a competition index (C_Ind) was calculated for each cow by dividing the number of times a cow displaced another as an actor by its total number of actor and reactor displacements. Cows were categorized as high success (C_Ind ≥0.6), moderate success (0.4 ≤ C_Ind <0.6), or low success (C_Ind <0.4). Weekly blood samples measured nonesterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, calcium, glucose, albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, haptoglobin, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor-1 from 3 wk before to 5 wk after calving. Measures of innate immune function (neutrophil phagocytosis and oxidative burst) were assessed at -2, -1, 1, 2, 3, and 5 wk relative to calving. Liver biopsies were collected at wk 1 and 3. Cows in the understocked group spent significantly more time per day lying; the back-transformed least squares means and 95% confidence interval were 14.8 h (13.9-15.6) versus 12.8 h (12.0-13.7). Controlling for parity, there was no difference between treatments in β-hydroxybutyrate, nonesterified fatty acids, glucose, insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, or haptoglobin concentrations. Throughout the study, cows in the understocked treatment had higher mean calcium and tended to have higher albumin and at 3 wk after calving tended to have lower mean liver triacylglycerol content. Overall, there was no treatment effect on phagocytosis, but cows with a higher C_Ind in the understocked treatment group had greater oxidative burst function. There was no effect of treatment on endometritis. Despite increased competition and lower lying time, the expected harmful effects of crowding and competition on metabolic indicators and innate immune function were mostly not observed. Although this does not refute the importance of access to feeding and lying space, these results indicate that metabolic and reproductive health is more complex than can be explained solely by exposure to what are understood to be best practices for space allowances.

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“…Decreases in milk price result in reduced profitability and ultimately cause one or both of the following reactions. Herd size may increase abruptly in an attempt to maintain cash flow (Sinclair et al, 2014) but might result in overstocking, thereby reducing access to primary resources by individual cows, which may diminish health or performance (of individual cows and eventually of the group or herd) and compromise animal welfare (see reviews by von von Keyserlingk and Weary, 2010). With reduced milk prices, farmers may also attempt to decrease costs by reducing the use of what they perceive as nonessential inputs or expenses that they have more discretion over, which may include veterinary service and participation in herd-monitoring programs, such as those provided by DHIA (e.g., Walter, 1995).…”

Section: Herd Size and Milk Pricementioning

confidence: 99%

Invited review: Changes in the dairy industry affecting dairy cattle health and welfare

Barkema

Keyserlingk

Kastelic

et al. 2015

Journal of Dairy Science

464

298

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The dairy industry in the developed world has undergone profound changes over recent decades. In this paper, we present an overview of some of the most important recent changes in the dairy industry that affect health and welfare of dairy cows, as well as the science associated with these changes. Additionally, knowledge gaps are identified where research is needed to guide the dairy industry through changes that are occurring now or that we expect will occur in the future. The number of farms has decreased considerably, whereas herd size has increased. As a result, an increasing number of dairy farms depend on hired (nonfamily) labor. Regular professional communication and establishment of farm-specific protocols are essential to minimize human errors and ensure consistency of practices. Average milk production per cow has increased, partly because of improvements in nutrition and management but also because of genetic selection for milk production. Adoption of new technologies (e.g., automated calf feeders, cow activity monitors, and automated milking systems) is accelerating. However, utilization of the data and action lists that these systems generate for health and welfare of livestock is still largely unrealized, and more training of dairy farmers, their employees, and their advisors is necessary. Concurrently, to remain competitive and to preserve their social license to operate, farmers are increasingly required to adopt increased standards for food safety and biosecurity, become less reliant on the use of antimicrobials and hormones, and provide assurances regarding animal welfare. Partly because of increasing herd size but also in response to animal welfare regulations in some countries, the proportion of dairy herds housed in tiestalls has decreased considerably. Although in some countries access to pasture is regulated, in countries that traditionally practiced seasonal grazing, fewer farmers let their dairy cows graze in the summer. The proportion of organic dairy farms has increased globally and, given the pressure to decrease the use of antimicrobials and hormones, conventional farms may be able to learn from well-managed organic farms. The possibilities of using milk for disease diagnostics and monitoring are considerable, and dairy herd improvement associations will continue to expand the number of tests offered to diagnose diseases and pregnancy. Genetic and genomic selection for increased resistance to disease offers substantial potential but requires collection of additional phenotypic data. There is every expectation that changes in the dairy industry will be further accentuated and additional novel technologies and different management practices will be adopted in the future.

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Review: Feeding behaviour of dairy cattle: Meaures and applications

Cited by 49 publications

References 35 publications

Effects of a Delay in Feed Delivery on Behaviour, Milk Yield and Heamatological Parameters of Dairy Cows

Effects of a Delay in Feed Delivery on Behaviour, Milk Yield and Heamatological Parameters of Dairy Cows

The effect of prepartum feeding and lying space on metabolic health and immune function

Invited review: Changes in the dairy industry affecting dairy cattle health and welfare

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