Abstract
The hypothesis that daily gain is associated with resting behaviour in heifers is tested in this paper. The test is based on two experiments conducted on Danish commercial dairy farms with Danish Friesian heifers (300–400 kg) in the winter periods. Group size was 5–6 heifers per pen. Experiment A, with 80 heifers, investigated the effect of different space allowances (1.5 or 3.0 m 2 per heifer on fully slatted floor) and different floor types (fully slatted or with access to bedding). Experiment B, with 70 heifers, investigated the effect of space allowance in the deep bedding area (1.8; 2.7 and 3.6 m 2 resting area per heifer). Data from experiment A showed a tendency towards a positive correlation between lying periods and daily gain for heifers housed on fully slatted floor but not when housed with access to bedding. There tended to be a positive correlation between number of lying periods and daily gain at a low but not at a high space allowance. The data from experiment B showed a tendency towards a positive correlation between lying time and daily gain at a low space allowance in the deep bedding area and not at a high space allowance. Among heifers in the pens with access to bedding in experiment A, it was found that one particular heifer in each of the four pens lay significantly more on the slatted floor and this heifer had an average daily gain which was less than the others.
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