Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ph5wq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-19T04:53:05.527Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effect of rumen fill on intake of fresh perennial ryegrass in young and mature dairy cows grazing or zero-grazing fresh perennial ryegrass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2009

A. Boudon*
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35590 St-Gilles, France Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35000 Rennes, France
J.-L. Peyraud
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35590 St-Gilles, France Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35000 Rennes, France
P. Faverdin
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35590 St-Gilles, France Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35000 Rennes, France
R. Delagarde
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35590 St-Gilles, France Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35000 Rennes, France
L. Delaby
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35590 St-Gilles, France Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35000 Rennes, France
A. V. Chaves
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35590 St-Gilles, France Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1080 Dairy Production, F-35000 Rennes, France
Get access

Abstract

Rumen fill may be a strong intake constraint for dairy cows fed on pasture, even though pasture is highly digestible in the grasslands of temperate climates. This constraint may also depend on the cows’ maturity. Moreover, indoor feeding of fresh herbage may not always be a good model for the study of intake regulation at grazing. To test these hypotheses, four mature (6.3 ± 0.72 year old) and four young (3.8 ± 0.20 year old) dairy cows were offered fresh perennial ryegrass indoors or at grazing. The impact of rumen fill on intake was evaluated by addition of rumen inert bulk (RIB; coconut fiber, 15 l) compared to a control. The experimental design was a double 4 × 4 Latin square with four 14-day periods and a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of two feeding methods (indoor feeding v. grazing), combined with the addition, or not, of RIB (RIB v. control), repeated for four mature and four young cows. Digestibility of offered herbage was 0.81. The average ytterbium measured dry matter intake (Yb DMI) was 19.0 and 15.5 kg/day for mature and young cows respectively (P = 0.019). The effect of RIB on predicted Yb DMI interacted with feeding method and cow age (P = 0.043). The presence of RIB decreased Yb DMI by 4.4 kg/day in mature cows at grazing and by 3.4 kg/day in young cows indoors, whereas it did not affect the Yb DMI of mature cows indoors or grazing young cows. Both grazing and young age constituted a clear constraint on the feeding behavior of the cows. Grazing cows had fewer ingestion and rumination sequences, which were longer and less evenly distributed throughout the day and night. Young cows had lower intake rates that were less adaptable to the feeding method and the presence of RIB. Mature cows clearly decreased their daily intake rate at grazing compared to indoor feeding, and with RIB compared to control, whereas the intake rate of young cows did not vary. These results indicate that rumen fill can represent a constraint on intake in grazing cows, even when highly digestible perennial ryegrass is offered. The study also shows that the impact of RIB on intake is highly dependent upon other constraints applied to the chewing behavior, which in this experiment were methods of offering herbage and cow age.

Type
Full Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrahamse, PA, Vlaeminck, B, Tamminga, S, Dijkstra, J 2008. The effect of silage and concentrate type on intake behavior, rumen function, and milk production in dairy cows in early and late lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 47784792.Google Scholar
Albright, JL 1993. Feeding behavior of dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 76, 485498.Google Scholar
Allen, MS 1996. Physical constraints on voluntary intake of forages by ruminants. Journal of Animal Science 74, 30633075.Google Scholar
Allen, MS 2000. Effects of diet on short-term regulation of feed intake by lactating dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 15981624.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists 1990. Official methods of analysis, 15th edition. AOAC, Arlington, VA, USA.Google Scholar
Bao, J, Giller, PS, Kett, JJ 1992. The effect of milk production level on grazing behaviour of Friesian cows under variable pasture conditions. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 31, 2333.Google Scholar
Boudon, A, Acosta, A, Delagarde, R, Peyraud, J-L 2006. Release of cell contents and comminution of particles of perennial ryegrass herbage during ingestion by dairy cows fed indoors or grazing. Grass and Forage Science 61, 205217.Google Scholar
Brun, JP, Prache, S, Bechet, G 1984. A portable device for eating behaviour studies. In 5th Meeting of European Grazing Workshop (ed. R Armstrong and J Doney). Hill Farming Research Organisation, Midlothian, USA.Google Scholar
Chenost, M, Demarquilly, C 1969. Comparaison entre le pâturage et l’affouragement en vert pour la production de viande bovine. Annales de Zootechnie 18, 277298.Google Scholar
Chilibroste, P 1999. Grazing time: the missing link. A study of the plant-animal interface by integration of experimental and modelling approaches. PhD, Wageningen University.Google Scholar
Dado, R, Allen, MS 1995. Intake limitations, feeding behavior, and rumen function of cows challenged with rumen fill from dietary fiber or inert bulk. Journal of Dairy Science 78, 118133.Google Scholar
Delagarde, R, O’Donovan, M 2005. Modelling of herbage intake and milk production by grazing dairy cows. In Utilisation of grazed grass in temperate animal Systems (ed. JJ Murphy), pp. 89104. Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Delagarde, R, Peyraud, JL, Delaby, L, Faverdin, P 2000. Vertical distribution of biomass, chemical composition and pepsin-cellulase digestibility in a perennial ryegrass sward: interaction with month of year, regrowth age and time of day. Animal Feed Science and Technology 84, 4968.Google Scholar
DeVries, TJ, Von Keyserlingk, MAG, Weary, DM, Beauchemin, KA 2003. Measuring the feeding behavior of lactating dairy cows in early to peak lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 33543361.Google Scholar
Dougherty, CT, Bradley, NW, Cornelius, PL, Lauriault, LM 1989. Ingestive behaviour of beef cattle offered different forms of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.). Grass and Forage Science 44, 335342.Google Scholar
Dove, H 1996. Constraints to the modelling of diet selection and intake in the grazing ruminant. In The ecology and management of grazing systems (ed. J Hodgson and AW Illius), pp. 257275. CAB International, Slough, UK.Google Scholar
Faverdin, P, Bareille, N, Verite, R 1999. Effects of rumen energy supply timing on feed intake control in lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 82, 24432454.Google Scholar
Faverdin, P, Baumont, R, Ingvartsen, KL 1995. Control and prediction of feed intake in ruminants. In Recent developments in the nutrition of herbivores. Proceedings of the IVth International Symposium on the Nutrition of Herbivores (ed. M Journet, E Grenet, M-H Farce, M Thériez and C Demarquilly), pp. 95120. INRA Editions, Paris.Google Scholar
Friggens, NC, Nielsen, BL, Kyriazakis, I, Tolkamp, BJ, Emmans, CG 1998. Effects of feed composition and stage of lactation on the short-term feeding behavior of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 81, 32683277.Google Scholar
Gordon, IJ, Illius, AW, Milne, JD 1996. Sources of variation in the foraging efficiency of grazing ruminants. Functional Ecology 10, 219226.Google Scholar
Greenhalgh, JFD, Rungie, KV 1962. The herbage intake and milk production of strip- and zero-grazed dairy cows. Journal of Agricultural Science 59, 95103.Google Scholar
Gregorini, P, Gunter, SA, Masino, CA, Beck, PA 2007. Effects of ruminal fill on short-term herbage intake rate and grazing dynamics of beef heifers. Grass and Forage Science 62, 346354.Google Scholar
Hodgson, J, Clark, DA, Mitchell, RJ 1994. Foraging behavior in grazing animals and its impact on plant communities. In Forage quality, evaluation and utilisation (ed. GC Fahey, M Collins, DR Mertens and LE Moser), pp. 796827. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.Google Scholar
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique 2007. Alimentation des bovins ovins caprins: besoins des animaux et tables des aliments. Editions QUAE, Versailles, France.Google Scholar
Johnson, TR, Combs, DK 1991. Effects of prepartum diet, inert rumen bulk, and dietary polyethylene glycol on dry matter intake of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 933944.Google Scholar
Johnson, TR, Combs, DK 1992. Effects of inert rumen bulk on dry matter intake in early and midlactation cows fed diets differing in forage content. Journal of Dairy Science 75, 508519.Google Scholar
Kolver, ES 2003. Nutritional limitations to increased production on pasture-based systems. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 62, 291300.Google Scholar
Laca, EA, Ungar, ED, Demment, MW 1994. Mechanisms of handling time and intake rate of a large mammalian grazer. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 39, 319.Google Scholar
Lawrence, TE, Whatley, JD, Montgomery, TH, Perino, LJ 2001. A comparison of the USDA ossification-based maturity system to a system based on dentition. Journal of Animal Science 79, 16831690.Google Scholar
Lofgreen, GPMeyer, JH, Hull, JL 1957. Behavior patterns of sheep and cattle being fed pasture or soilage. Journal of Animal Science 16, 773780.Google Scholar
McLeod, MN, Minson, DJ 1988. Large particle breakdown by cattle eating ryegrass and alfalfa. Journal of Animal Science 66, 992999.Google Scholar
O’Connell, J, Giller, PS, Meaney, W 1989. A comparison of dairy cattle behavioural patterns at pasture and during confinement. Irish Journal of Agricultural Research 28, 6572.Google Scholar
Okine, EK, Mathison, GW, Kaske, M, Kennelly, JJ, Christopherson, RJ 1998. Current understanding of the role of the reticulum and reticulo-omasal orifice in the control of digesta passage from the ruminoreticulum of sheep and cattle. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 78, 1521.Google Scholar
Penning, PD, Parsons, AJ, Orr, RJ, Treacher, TT 1991. Intake and behaviour responses by sheep to changes in sward characteristics under continuous stocking. Grass and Forage Science 46, 1528.Google Scholar
Perez-Barberia, FJ, Gordon, IJ 1998. Factors affecting food comminution during chewing in ruminants: a review. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 63, 233256.Google Scholar
Peyraud, J-L 1998. Techniques for measuring faecal flow, digestibility and intake of herbage in grazing ruminants. In Proceedings of the IXth European Intake Workshop (ed. MJ Gibb), pp. 3943. The Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke, UK.Google Scholar
Phillips, CJC, Leaver, JD 1985. Seasonal and diurnal variation in the grazing behaviour of dairy cows. In Grazing, British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 19 (ed. J Frame), pp. 98104. British Grassland Society, Great Malvern, UK.Google Scholar
Phillips, CJC, Lomas, CA, Arab, TM 1998. Differential response of dairy cows to supplementary light during increasing or decreasing daylength. Animal Science 66, 5563.Google Scholar
Prasanpanich, S, Sukpitaksakul, P, Tudsri, S, Vajrabukka, C 2003. Comparison on eating patterns of lactating cows fed indoor and on grazing pasture during hot-humid months in Central Thailand. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 13, 224.Google Scholar
Pulido, RG, Leaver, JD 2003. Continuous and rotational grazing of dairy cows – the interactions of grazing system with level of milk yield, sward height and concentrate level. Grass and Forage Science 58, 265275.Google Scholar
Ribeiro Filho, H, Delagarde, R, Peyraud, J-L 2003. Inclusion of white clover in strip-grazed perennial ryegrass swards: herbage intake and milk yield of dairy cows at different ages of sward regrowth. Animal Science 77, 499510.Google Scholar
Salaün, C, Van Straalen, WM, Kogut, J, Peyraud, J-L, Van Vuuren, AM 1999. In situ degradation of perennial rye grass from grazed pastures during the season at two levels of nitrogen fertilization. Annales de Zootechnie 48, 3546.Google Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. 2007. SAS OnlineDoc. 9.1.3. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Siddons, RC, Paradine, DE, Beever, DE, Cornell, PR 1985. Ytterbium acetate as a particulate digesta flow marker. The British Journal of Nutrition 54, 509519.Google Scholar
Tanida, H, Swanson, LV, Hohenboken, SD 1984. Effect of artificial photoperiod on eating behaviour and other behavioural observations of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 67, 585591.Google Scholar
Taweel, HZ, Tas, BM, Dijkstra, J, Tamminga, S 2004. Intake regulation and grazing behaviour of dairy cows under continuous stocking. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 34173427.Google Scholar
Uden, P, Colucci, PE, VanSoest, PJ 1980. Investigation of chromium, cerium and cobalt as markers in digesta. Rate of passage studies. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 31, 625632.Google Scholar
Ulyatt, M, Dellow, DW, John, A, Reid, CSW, Waghorn, GC 1986. Contribution of chewing during eating and rumination to the clearance of digesta from the ruminoreticulum. In Control of digestion and metabolism (ed. LP Milligan, WL Grovum and A Dobson), pp. 498515. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA.Google Scholar