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Feeding behavior improves prediction of dairy cow voluntary feed intake but cannot serve as the sole indicator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2015

I. Halachmi ,
Y. Ben Meir ,
J. Miron  and
E. Maltz
I. Halachmi*
Affiliation:
The Volcani Centre, The Institute of Agricultural Engineering, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Y. Ben Meir
Affiliation:
The Volcani Centre, The Institute of Agricultural Engineering, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel The Volcani Centre, Animal Science Institute – Agricultural Research Organization (A.R.O.), PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
J. Miron
Affiliation:
The Volcani Centre, Animal Science Institute – Agricultural Research Organization (A.R.O.), PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
E. Maltz
Affiliation:
The Volcani Centre, The Institute of Agricultural Engineering, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
*
† E-mail: halachmi@volcani.agri.gov.il
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Abstract

Low-cost feeding-behavior sensors will soon be available for commercial use in dairy farms. The aim of this study was to develop a feed intake model for the individual dairy cow that includes feeding behavior. In a research farm, the individual cows’ voluntary feed intake and feeding behavior were monitored at every meal. A feed intake model was developed based on data that exist in commercial modern farms: ‘BW,’ ‘milk yield’ and ‘days in milking’ parameters were applied in this study. At the individual cow level, eating velocity seemed to be correlated with feed intake (R 2=0.93 to 0.94). The eating velocity coefficient varied among individuals, ranging from 150 to 230 g/min per cow. The contribution of feeding behavior (0.28) to the dry matter intake (DMI) model was higher than the contribution of BW (0.20), similar to the contribution of fat-corrected milk (FCM)/BW (0.29) and not as large as the contribution of FCM (0.49). Incorporating feeding behavior into the DMI model improved its accuracy by 1.3 (38%) kg/cow per day. The model is ready to be implemented in commercial farms as soon as companies introduce low-cost feeding-behavior sensors on commercial level.

Keywords

individual coweating speed sensorprecision livestock farming
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 10 , Issue 9 , September 2016 , pp. 1501 - 1506
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2015 

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