Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T05:41:02.723Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of duration of fasting period on short-term intake rates of lactating dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

D. M. Patterson ,
D. A. McGilloway ,
A. Cushnahan ,
C. S. Mayne  and
A. S. Laidlaw
D. M. Patterson
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR
D. A. McGilloway
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR
A. Cushnahan
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
A. S. Laidlaw
Affiliation:
Applied Plant Science Division, Plant Testing Station, 50 Houston Road, Crossnacreevy, Castlereagh, Belfast BT6 9SH
Get access

Abstract

The effects of duration of fasting on the short-term feeding behaviour of 12 grazing and 12 silage-fed lactating Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were examined. Four groups of three cows were rotated around fasting treatments of 1, 3, 6 or 13 h following a balanced Latin-square design. Herbage intakes for each treatment group were assessed over al-h period.

As intended there were no significant differences in sward characteristics between the experimental plots grazed by cows from different treatment groups. However, total dry-matter (DM) intake, biting rate and DM intake per bite, measured over the 1-h grazing period, increased significantly when the duration offasting was extended from 1 to 6 or 13 h (P < 0·05). There were only minor differences in grazing behaviour following fasting durations ofl and 3, or 6 and 13 h.

In a parallel study, undertaken to assess the influence offasting duration on appetite independently of grazing, four groups of three cows were housed indoors and offered 30 kg of a high quality grass silage. Silage DM intakes, measured over a 1-h period, increased significantly with extended fasting periods (P < 0·01), though silage DM intake was considerably lower than that of grazing cows for each fasting treatment.

These results suggest that dairy cows grazing on good quality swards may be able to compensate for increased degree of hunger by increasing both biting rate and DM intake per bite to increase DM intake rate. Although the DM intakes of silage and grazed grass followed similar patterns of increasing intake with extended fasting duration, DM intake rates were considerably higher in grazing cows for each fasting treatment.

Keywords

dairy cowsfastingfood intakegrazing behaviourherbage
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 66 , Issue 2 , April 1998 , pp. 299 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1998

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.)

References

Allden, W. G. and Whittaker, I. A. M. 1970. The determinants of herbage intake by grazing sheep: the interrelationship of factors influencing herbage intake and availability. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 755–766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baile, C. A. and McLaughlin, C. L. 1987. Mechanisms controlling feed intake in ruminants: a review Journal Animal Science 64: 915–922.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barthram, G. T. 1986. Experimental techniques: the HFRO sward stick. Hill Farming Research Organisation, report, 1984–85, pp. 29–30.Google Scholar
Chacon, E. and Stobbs, T. H. 1977. The effects of fasting prior to sampling and diurnal variation on certain aspects of grazing behaviour in cattle. Applied Animal Ethology 3: 163–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coffey, M. 1992. Genetic trends — has progress been made in the last six years? Holstein Friesian Journal 74: 62–63.Google Scholar
Cushnahan, A. and Gordon, F. J. 1995. The effects of grass preservation on intake, apparent digestibility and rumen degradation characteristics Animal Science 60: 429–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dougherty, C. T., Bradley, N. W., Cornelius, P. L. and Lauriault, L. M. 1987. Herbage intake rates of beef cattle grazing alfalfa. Agronomy Journal 79:1003–1008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dougherty, C. T., Bradley, N. W., Cornelius, P. L. and Lauriault, L. M. 1989. Short-term fasts and the ingestive behaviour of grazing cattle. Grass and Forage Science 44: 295–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dougherty, C. T., Smith, E. M., Bradley, N. W., Forbes, T. D. A., Cornelius, P. L., Lauriault, L. M. and Arnold, C. D. 1988. Ingestive behaviour of beef cattle grazing alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Grass and Forage Science 43:121–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenwood, G. B. and Demment, M. W. 1988. The effect of fasting on short-term cattle grazing behaviour Grass and Forage Science 43: 377–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, J. 1986. Grazing behaviour and herbage intake. In Grazing. British Grassland Society, occasional symposium no. 19, pp. 51–64.Google Scholar
Laca, E. A., Ungar, E. D., Seligman, N. and Demment, M. W. 1992. Effects of sward height and bulk density on bite dimensions of cattle grazing homogenous swards Grass and Forage Science 47: 91–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGilloway, D. A. and Mayne, C. S. 1996. The importance of grass availability for the high genetic merit dairy cow. In Recent advances in animal nutrition (ed. Garnsworthy, P. C., Wiseman, J. and Haresign, W.), pp. 135–169. Nottingham University Press.Google Scholar
Mayne, C. S. and Gordon, F. J. 1995. Implications of genotype × nutrition interactions for efficiency of milk production systems. In Breeding and feeding the high genetic merit dairy cow (ed. Lawrence, T. L. J., Gordon, F. J. and Carson, A.), British Society of Animal Science, occasional publication no. 19, pp. 67–77.Google Scholar
Mayne, C. S., McGilloway, D. A., Cushnahan, A. and Laidlaw, A. S. 1997. The effect of sward height and bulk density on herbage intake and grazing behaviour of dairy cows. Proceedings of the 18th international grassland Winnipeg, vol. 1, p. 215–216.Google Scholar
Newman, J. A., Penning, P. D., Parsons, A. J., Harvey, A. and Orr, R. J. 1994. Fasting affects intake behaviour and diet preference of grazing sheep Animal Behaviour 47: 185–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penning, P. D. and Hooper, G. E. 1985. An evaluation of the use of short-term weight changes in grazing sheep for estimating herbage intake Grass and Forage Science 40: 79–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, C. J. C. and Leaver, J. D. 1985. Supplementary feeding of forage to grazing dairy cows. 2. Offering grass silage in early and late season. Grass and Forage Science 40: 193–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, C. J. C. and Leaver, J. D. 1986. The effect of forage supplementation on the behaviour of grazing dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 16: 233–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidahmed, A. E., Morris, J. G., Weir, W. C. and Torell, D. T. 1977. Effect of the length of fasting on intake, in vitro digestibility and chemical composition of forage samples collected by esophageal fistulated sheep Journal of Animal Science 45: 885–890.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spedding, C. R. W., Large, R. V. and Kydd, D. D. 1966. The evaluation of herbage species by grazing animals. Proceedings of the 10th international grassland congress, Helsinki, pp. 479–483.Google Scholar