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Dairy cow feeding behaviour: Basic
concepts and practical implications
Third DairyCare Conference
October 5, 2015
Trevor DeVries
Why consider behaviour at the
feed bunk?
Changes in intake must be mediated
through changes in feeding behaviour
DMI
(kg/d)
Feeding time
(min/d)
Feeding rate
(kg/min)
Meal length
(min/meal)
Meal frequency
(meals/d)
Meal size
(kg/meal)
Nielsen . B. L. 1999. Appl. Anim. Beh. Sci. 63:79-91
Why consider behaviour at the
feed bunk?
Changes in intake must be mediated
through changes in feeding behaviour
◦ These changes may also be reflective of the
health status of the cow (Weary et al., 2009)
Why consider behaviour at the
feed bunk?
Feeding behaviour can have a direct
impact on rumen digestion, health,
efficiency, and productivity
◦ how feed is consumed
◦ when feed is consumed
◦ what feed was actually consumed
How do cows eat?
Eating behaviour impacts rumen
function…
◦ Fewer, larger meals
Larger declines in rumen pH (Allen, 1997)
Data from Dohme et al. 2008 J. Dairy Sci. 91:3554–3567
Large declines in rumen pH following
feed consumption…
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
6:00 9:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 0:00 3:00
rum
en
pH
Time (h)
How do cows eat?
Eating behaviour impacts rumen
function…
◦ Fewer, larger meals
Larger declines in rumen pH (Allen, 1997)
◦ Longer feeding times, slower feeding
rate
Increased salivary secretion (Beauchemin et al.,
2008)
Improved digestibility (Aikman et al., 2008)
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
6:00 9:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 0:00 3:00
Time (h)
rum
en
pH
Data from Dohme et al. 2008 J. Dairy Sci. 91:3554–3567
Minimal declines in rumen pH following
feed consumption…
When do cows eat?
% c
ow
s e
ating
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
04:00 08:00 12:00 16:00 20:00 00:00
Time (h)
Tucker et al., 2007. J. Dairy Sci. 90:1692-1703
Feeding behaviour on pasture…
Delivery of TMR at the same time
as milking
0
20
40
60
80
100
4:00 7:00 10:00 13:00 16:00 19:00 22:00 1:00 4:00
Time (h)
% o
f cow
s a
t th
e f
eed b
unk
DeVries and von Keyserlingk, 2005; J. Dairy Sci. 88: 3553-3562
0
20
40
60
80
100
4:00 7:00 10:00 13:00 16:00 19:00 22:00 1:00 4:00
Time (h)
% o
f cow
s a
t th
e f
eed b
unk
DeVries and von Keyserlingk, 2005; J. Dairy Sci. 88: 3553-3562
Delivery of TMR 6 hours after
milking
Not only may important how she eats to
achieve her DMI…but the composition of
the dry matter consumed!
What do cows actually
consume?
y = 0.02x + 4.42
R2 = 0.46
5.0
6.0
7.0
80.0 90.0 100.0 110.0 120.0
Sorting of long particles (%)
Max
imu
m r
um
en
pH
Sorting for Sorting against
More sorting against long particles =
lower rumen pH
DeVries et al. 2008 J. Dairy Sci. 91:3958-3967
What effects does feed soring
have?
At a cow level…
◦ Lower milk fat %
For every 10% refusal of long particles milk fat % dropped by…
0.15% DeVries et al. 2011. J. Dairy Sci. 94:4039-4045
Fish and DeVries. 2012. J. Dairy Sci. 95:850-855
0.10% Miller-Cushon and DeVries. 2015. J. Dairy Sci. E-Suppl. 2
98:13.
What effects does feed soring
have?
At a herd level…
◦ Every 2% refusal of long particles =
-0.9 kg/d 4% fat corrected milk
2% decrease in production efficiency
Sova et al. 2013. J. Dairy Sci. 96:4759-4770
How do we use this knowledge to
optimize cow health, welfare, and
productivity?
Make sure dairy cows eat their feed
in a manner which is good for them
◦ dietary composition
◦ feeding management
◦ social environment
How do we accomplish this?
Provide feed that encourages
consumption of small, frequent
meals & difficult to sort
DeVries et al, 2007; J. Dairy Sci. 90:5572-5579
Other opportunities to impact
eating behaviour…
Utilize feed additives which stabilize
rumen conditions
◦ Monensin (Erickson et al., 2003; Lunn et al., 2005; Mullins
et al., 2012)
◦ Sodium bicarbonate (Gonzalez et al., 2008)
◦ Yeast supplements (Bach et al., 2007; DeVries and
Chevaux, 2014)
Greater frequency of smaller meals
with live-yeast supplementation…
0
2
4
6
8
10
Control Yeast
Meal fr
equency (
#/d
)
0
1
2
3
4
5
Control Yeast
Meal siz
e (
kg/m
eal)
Data from DeVries and Chevaux. 2014. J. Dairy Sci. 97:6499-6510
How do we accomplish this?
Provide feed that encourages
consumption of small, frequent
meals
Ensure cattle are stimulated to
access their feed throughout the
day
How do we stimulate cows to access
their feed throughout the day?
Deliver feed more often…
◦More time at the bunk
◦ Less feed sorting
DeVries et al, 2005; J. Dairy Sci. 88: 3553-3562
Feeding 3x/d improved intake…but did
not benefit feeding patterns!
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 0:00 3:00 6:00 9:00
DM
I (k
g)
Time (h)
1x feeding
2x feeding
3x feeding
3x feeding
1x, 2x & 3x feeding
2x & 3x feeding
Hart et al. 2014. J. Dairy Sci. 97:1713-1724.
How do we accomplish this?
Provide feed that encourages
consumption of small, frequent
meals
Ensure cattle are stimulated to
access their feed throughout the
day
Minimize competition at the feed
bunk
0
1
2
3
4
69 25 112 91 59 352 90 109 19 52 5 60
Cow I.D.
Num
ber
of
Choic
es
With Dominant
Alone
Subordinate cows given choice to
trade-off feed quality with feeding alone
or next to dominant cow
Rioja-Lang et al. 2009. Appl. Anim. Beh. Sci. 117:159-164
0
20
40
60
80
100
0:00 3:00 6:00 9:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
Fresh Feed
Fresh Feed
Push Up
Push Up
Push Up
Milking
Milking
Time (h)
% o
f co
ws
feedin
g
What happens when we increase
stocking density?
Huzzey et al., 2006. J. Dairy Sci. 89:126-133
0.41 m/cow
0.61 m/cow
0.21 m/cow
0.81 m/cow
Results from cross-sectional study
of free-stall herds in Canada
Greater bunk space (per cow):
◦ +0.06% milk fat per 10cm increase
◦ -13% SCC per 10cm increase
Sova et al. 2013. J. Dairy Sci. 96:4759-4770
Insight into feeding behaviour should
improve our ability to develop feeding
management systems
◦Optimize and balance nutrient intake
◦ Prevent disease
◦Meet behavioural needs
◦ Improve welfare
Take home messages:
Further discussion???
Thank you to NSERC, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada, the Canadian Dairy Commission, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Lallemand
Animal Nutrition, Westgen, the Investment Agriculture Foundation of British
Columbia, the Canadian Bovine Mastitis Research Network, the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, the University of Guelph, and the
University of British Columbia Animal Welfare Program for their financial
support.