Mitigation of variability between competitively fed dairy cows through increased feed delivery frequency

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Dairy Nutrition
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Feed bunk competition negatively impacts individual dairy cow behavior and productivity.
• Increased feeding frequency may offer a strategy to mitigate competition effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if increasing total mixed ration (TMR) delivery frequency mitigates feed bunk competition effects in lactating dairy cows.
• To assess the impact on individual cow behavior, meal patterns, and productivity.

Main Methods:

• Sixteen lactating Holstein cows were competitively fed TMR (2 cows:1 feed bin) under low (2x/d) and high (6x/d) delivery frequencies in a crossover design.
• Automated systems recorded dry matter intake (DMI), feeding behavior, and rumination. Cow parity (young vs. mature) was also considered.

Main Results:

• TMR frequency did not affect feeding time, feeding rate, DMI, feed sorting, or productivity.
• Higher frequency tended to increase rumination time and lying bout duration, but also increased within-pair variability in rumination.
• Younger cows exhibited lower feeding rates and DMI, with higher meal frequency and smaller meal sizes compared to mature cows.

Conclusions:

• Increasing TMR delivery frequency from 2 to 6x/d did not alleviate competitive feeding effects on dairy cow productivity.
• Cow parity was a more significant factor influencing feeding behavior, meal patterns, and production than feed delivery frequency under high competition.