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The effects of fermentation characteristics of grass silage on the eating behaviour of dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

H F Elizalde  and
C S Mayne
H F Elizalde
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down, BT26 6DR
C S Mayne
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down, BT26 6DR
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Extract

The total amount of feed eaten by ruminant animals in a given period of time depends on the number of meals eaten in that time, the duration of each meal and the rate of eating during each meal (Bines, 1976). It has been suggested that differences in the pattern of intake with differing silages may influence the rate of nutrient release within the rumen, and thereby alter the efficiency of use of ingested nutrients (Gill et al, 1988).

An experiment was carried out to examine the eating behaviour of 48 lactating dairy cows offered 5 silages with contrasting fermentation characteristics, with silages produced using a range of silage additive treatments.

The treatments consisted of five silages harvested between 2-6 July from a perennial ryegrass based sward which had previously been harvested between 18-19 May. Herbage was ensiled either untreated (C), treated with an inoculant (I), inoculant with enzymes (I + E), formic acid (FA) or high levels of mixed aliphatic carboxylic acids (A). Animals were allocated to a randomized block design with 9 animals/treatment on treatments I, I+E, FA and CA and 12 animals on treatment C. Eating behaviour was monitored using a system in which cows were identified from collar borne transponders as they ate from weighed blocks of silage (Forbes et al, 1987).

Type
Milk Production: 2
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1992 , March 1992 , pp. 61
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1992

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References

Bines, J. A. (1976). Regulation of food intake in dairy cows in relation to milk production. Livestock Production Science, 3: 115–128.Google Scholar
Forbes, J.M., Jackson, D.A., Johnson, C.L., Stockill, P and Hoyle, B.S. (1987). A method for the automatic monitoring of food intake and feeding behaviour of individual cattle kept in a group. Research and Development in Agriculture, 3 : 175–180.Google Scholar
Gill, M., Sargeant, A., Neal, H.D.St.C and Hughes, P.M. (1988). Effect of type of silage on rate of eating in lactating cows. Animal Production, 46 : 488–489 (Abstract).Google Scholar