Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T13:33:54.131Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of acute and chronic heat stress on feed sorting behaviour of lactating dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2019

E. K. Miller-Cushon Open the ORCID record for E. K. Miller-Cushon [Opens in a new window] ,
A. M. Dayton ,
K. C. Horvath ,
A. P. A. Monteiro Open the ORCID record for A. P. A. Monteiro [Opens in a new window] ,
X. Weng  and
S. Tao Open the ORCID record for S. Tao [Opens in a new window]
E. K. Miller-Cushon*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, 2250 Shealy Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
A. M. Dayton
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, 2250 Shealy Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
K. C. Horvath
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, 2250 Shealy Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
A. P. A. Monteiro
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA 31793, USA
X. Weng
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA 31793, USA
S. Tao
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA 31793, USA
*
†E-mail: emillerc@ufl.edu
Get access

Abstract

Nutritional strategies to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on animal welfare and productivity often involve changes in ration formulation. However, cattle commonly sort their ration in favour of certain components, and it is not clear how feed sorting responds to heat stress. This study investigated the association between heat stress and feed sorting behaviour. Lactating Holstein dairy cows (n = 32; parity = 2.8±1.2; mean±SD) were housed in a free stall barn and milked 3×/day. Cows were fed individually using the Calan Broadbent Feeding System and offered ad libitum access to a total mixed ration (containing on a dry matter basis: 3.3% ryegrass hay, 16.5% ryegrass baleage, 24.7% corn silage, 11.1% brewers grains, 19.7% ground corn, 19.8% concentrate and 4.9% protein/mineral supplement), provided 1×/day. Beginning at 186±60 days in milk, cows were exposed to either: heat stress conditions (HT; n = 15) (average temperature–humidity index: 77.6), or evaporative cooling (CL; n = 17), consisting of misters and fans over the freestall and feed bunks. Data were collected during a 4-day baseline period, and two 4-day experimental periods: starting at 10 days after implementing treatments (defined as acute heat stress for HT cows), and at 62 days after implementing treatments (defined as chronic heat stress for HT cows). Daily feed intake and physiological responses to heat stress (body temperature, respiration rate) were recorded. Samples of fresh and refused feed were collected daily from individual cows for particle size analysis. The particle size separator had three screens (19, 8 and 1.18 mm) and a bottom pan, resulting in 4 fractions (long, medium, short and fine particles). Feed sorting was calculated as the actual intake of each particle size fraction expressed as a percentage of the predicted intake of that fraction. During both heat stress periods, HT cows sorted for long particles more than CL cows (105.0% v. 100.6%; SE = 1.1). During acute heat stress, HT cows sorted to a greater extent than CL cows against medium and short particles, whereas sorting of these fractions did not differ during chronic heat stress. Body temperature and respiration rate were associated across treatments with the extent of sorting for long particles and against short particles during acute heat stress. These results suggest that feed sorting is particularly influenced during acute heat stress, and that sorting for longer particles may increase in heat stress.

Keywords

dairy cattlefeeding behaviournutritionmanagementanimal welfare
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 13 , Issue 9 , September 2019 , pp. 2044 - 2051
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2019 

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.)

Footnotes

a

Present address: College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

b

Present address: Department of Production Animal Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

References

AOAC International 2000. Official methods of analysis vol I, 17th edition. AOAC, Arlington, VA, USA.Google Scholar
Allen, JD, Hall, LW, Collier, RJ and Smith, JF 2015. Effect of core body temperature, time of day, and climate conditions on behavioral patterns of lactating dairy cows experiencing mild to moderate heat stress. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 118–127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumgard, LH, Abuajamieh, MK, Stoakes, SK, Sanz-Fernandez, MV, Johnson, JS and Rhoads, RP 2014. Feeding and managing cows to minimize heat stress. In Proceedings of the 23rd Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, 14–16 April 2014, Fort Wayne, IN, USA, pp. 61–74.Google Scholar
Beede, DK and Collier, RJ 1986. Potential nutritional strategies for intensively managed cattle during thermal stress. Journal of Animal Science 62, 543–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belanche, A, Doreau, M, Edwards, JE, Moorby, JM, Pinloche, E and Newbold, CJ 2012. Shifts in the rumen microbiota due to the type of carbohydrate and level of protein ingested by dairy cattle are associated with changes in rumen fermentation. Journal of Nutrition 142, 1684–1692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown-Brandl, TM, Eigenberg, RA, Nienaber, JA and Hahn, GL 2005. Dynamic response indicators of heat stress in shaded and non-shaded feedlot cattle, part 1: analyses of indicators. Biosystems Engineering 90, 451–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, NB, Mentink, RL, Bennett, TB and Burgi, K 2007. The effect of heat stress and lameness on time budgets of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 1674–1682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coppock, CE, Flatt, WP, Moore, LA and Stewart, WE 1964. Effect of hay to grain ratio on utilization of metabolizable energy for milk production by dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 47, 1330–1338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, KA 1992. Effect of dietary acid detergent fibre on responses to high environmental temperature. Journal of Dairy Science 75, 1465–1471.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dayton, A, Monteiro, APA, Weng, X, Tao, S and Miller-Cushon, EK 2016. Effects of acute and chronic heat stress on feed sorting behaviour of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 99 (E-suppl. 1), 34.Google Scholar
DeVries, TJ, Dohme, F and Beauchemin, KA 2008. Repeated ruminal acidosis challenges in lactating dairy cows at high and low risk for developing acidosis: feed sorting. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 3958–3967.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeVries, TJ, Holtshausen, L, Oba, M and Beauchemin, KA 2011. Effect of parity and stage of lactation on feed sorting behaviour of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 4039–4045.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeVries, TJ, von Keyserlingk, MAG and Beauchemin, KA 2005. Frequency of feed delivery affects the behavior of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 3553–3562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dikmen, S and Hansen, PJ 2009. Is the temperature-humidity index the best indicator of heat stress in lactating dairy cows in a subtropical environment? Journal of Dairy Science 92, 109–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hahn, GL 1999. Dynamic responses of cattle to thermal heat loads. Journal of Animal Science 77 (suppl. 2), 10–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kadzere, CT, Murphy, MH, Silanikove, N and Maltz, E 2002. Heat stress in lactating dairy cows: a review. Livestock Production Science 77, 59–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanjanapruthipong, J, Homwong, N and Buatong, N 2010. Effects of prepartum roughage neutral detergent fiber levels on periparturient dry matter intake, metabolism, and lactation in heat-stressed dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 2589–2597.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keunen, JE, Plaizier, JC, Kyriazakis, I, Duffield, TF, Widowski, TM, Lindinger, MI and McBride, BW 2002. Effects of a subacute ruminal acidosis model on the diet selection of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 85, 3304–3313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kononoff, PJ, Heinrichs, AJ and Buckmaster, DR 2003. Modification of Penn State forage and total mixed ration particle separator and the effects of moisture content on its measurements. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 1858–1863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonardi, C and Armentano, LE 2003. Effect of quantity, quality, and length of alfalfa hay on selective consumption by dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 557–564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller-Cushon, EK, Bergeron, R, Leslie, KE, Mason, GJ and DeVries, TJ 2013. Effect of early exposure to different feed presentations on feed sorting of dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 4624–4633.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller-Cushon, EK and DeVries, TJ 2009. Effect of dietary dry matter concentration on the sorting behavior of lactating dairy cows fed a total mixed ration. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 3293–3298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller-Cushon, EK and DeVries, TJ 2010. Feeding amount affects the sorting behavior of lactating dairy cows. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 90, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller-Cushon, EK and DeVries, TJ 2017a. Feed sorting in dairy cattle: causes, consequences, and management. Journal of Dairy Science 100, 4172–4183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller-Cushon, EK and DeVries, TJ 2017b. Short communication: associations between feed push-up frequency, feeding and lying behaviour, and milk yield and composition of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 100, 2213–2218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller-Cushon, EK, Vogel, JP and DeVries, TJ 2015. Short communication: feed sorting of dairy heifers is influenced by method of dietary transition. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 2687–2692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mishra, M, Martz, FA, Stanley, RW, Johnson, HD, Campbell, JR and Hilderbrand, E 1970. Effect of diet and ambient temperature humidity on ruminal pH, oxidation reduction potential, ammonia and lactic acid in lactating cows. Journal of Animal Science 30, 1023–1028.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitlöhner, FM, Morrow, JL, Dailey, JW, Wilson, SC, Galyean, ML, Miller, MF and Mcglone, JJ 2001. Shade and water misting effects on behavior, physiology, performance, and carcass traits of heat-stressed feedlot cattle. Journal of Animal Science 79, 2327–2335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, TR 1999. Experimental design and analysis in animal sciences. CABI Publishing, New York, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Ominski, KH, Kennedy, AD, Wittenberk, KM and Moshtaghi Nia, SA 2002. Physiological and production responses to feeding schedule in lactating dairy cows exposed to short-term, moderate heat stress. Journal of Dairy Science 85, 730–737.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Provenza, F 1995. Postingestive feedback as an elementary determinant of food preference and intake in ruminants. Journal of Range Management 48, 2–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Renaudeau, D, Collin, A, Yahav, S, de Basilio, V, Gourdine, JL and Collier, RJ 2012. Adaptation to hot climate and strategies to alleviate heat stress in livestock production. Animal 6, 707–728.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SAS Institute Inc. 2012. SAS version 9.4. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Schütz, KE, Cox, NR and Matthews, LR 2008. How important is shade to dairy cattle? Choice between shade or lying following different levels of lying deprivation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 114, 307–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soriani, N, Panella, G and Calamari, L 2013. Rumination time during the summer season and its relationships with metabolic conditions and milk production. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 5082–5094.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sova, AD, LeBlanc, SJ, McBride, BW and DeVries, TJ. 2013. Associations between herd-level feeding management practices, feed sorting, and milk production in freestall dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 4759–4770.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tajima, K, Nonaka, I, Higuchi, K, Takusari, N, Kurihara, M, Takenaka, A, Mitsumori, M, Kajikawa, H and Aminov, RI 2007. Influence of high temperature and humidity on rumen bacterial diversity in Holstein heifers. Anaerobe 13, 57–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tucker, CB, Rogers, AR and Schütz, KE 2008. Effect of solar radiation on dairy cattle behaviour, use of shade and body temperature in a pasture-based system. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 109, 141–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Soest, PJ, Robertson, JB and Lewis, BA 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583–3597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weng, X, Monteiro, APA, Guo, J, Li, C, Orelana, RM, Marins, TN, Bernard, JK, Tomlinson, DJ, DeFrain, JM, Wohlgemuth, SE and Tao, S 2018. Effects of heat stress and dietary zinc source on performance and mammary epithelial integrity of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 101, 2617–2630.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
West, JW 1999. Nutritional strategies for managing the heat-stressed dairy cow. Journal of Dairy Science 82 (suppl. 2), 21–35.Google Scholar
Zimbelman, RB, Rhoads, RP, Rhoads, ML, Duff, GC, Baumgard, LH and Collier, RJ 2009. A re-evaluation of the impact of temperature humidity index (THI) and black globe humidity index (BGHI) on milk production in high producing dairy cows. In Proceedings of the Southwest Nutritional Management Conference, 26–27 February 2009, Tucson, AZ, USA, pp. 158–168.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Miller-Cushon supplementary material

Miller-Cushon supplementary material 1

Download Miller-Cushon supplementary material(File)
File 13.8 KB