Abstract
Provision of a palatable feed in automated milking systems (AMS) is considered an essential motivating factor to encourage voluntary visits to the milking stall. Although the quantity and composition of AMS concentrates have been previously investigated, the form of the concentrate has not been extensively evaluated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of feeding pelleted (PB; 132.9 ± 56 DIM, 47.4 ± 9.51 kg/d milk yield) versus steam-flaked barley (SFB; 133.0 ± 63 DIM, 40.5 ± 8.23 kg/d milk yield) in an AMS on dry matter intake, AMS visits, milk and milk component yield, and partial mixed ration (PMR) feeding behavior. Twenty-nine Holstein cows of varying parities were enrolled in this study. Cows were housed in freestall housing with a feed-first guided-flow barn design; 7 cows were housed in a separate freestall pen to enable individual PMR intake and feeding behavior monitoring. This study was conducted as a 2-way crossover, with two 21-d periods in which each cow received the same basal PMR but was offered 2 kg/d (dry matter basis) of PB or SFB in the AMS. Cows receiving the SFB had fewer voluntary AMS visits (2.71 vs. 2.90 ± 0.051, no./d), tended to have a longer interval between milkings (541.7 vs. 505.8 ± 21.02 min), spent more time in the holding pen before entering the AMS (139.9 vs. 81.2 ± 11.68 min/d), and had lower total box time (19.7 vs. 21.4 ± 0.35 min/d) than cows fed PB. Despite changes in AMS attendance, there were no differences for average milk (44.0 kg/d), fat (1.62 kg/d), and protein (1.47 kg/d) yields or AMS concentrate intake (2.02 kg/d). These behavioral changes indicate that offering SFB as an alternative to PB may reduce motivation for cows to voluntarily enter the AMS.
Highlights
Since their first installation in 1992, automated milking systems (AMS) have been installed on more than 35,000 dairy farms worldwide (Salfer et al, 2019)
An additional small group of 7 cows were housed in a freestall pen. 2Largest SEM is reported. 3BCS was measured according to Wildman et al (1982), using a 5-point scale. 4Total DMI is the sum of partial mixed ration (PMR) and AMS intake. 5PMR intake, PMR feeding behavior, and PMR sorting behavior were measured only for the small housing group (SM) housing group. 6Sorting index was calculated according to Leonardi and Armentano (2003), where values greater than 100 indicate selective consumption, values equal to 100 indicate that no sorting occurred, and values less than 100 indicate selective avoidance
We found no difference in PMR sorting behavior for particles >19 mm (P = 0.58), >8 mm (P = 0.58), >4 mm (P = 0.38), and
Summary
Since their first installation in 1992 (de Koning, 2011), automated milking systems (AMS) have been installed on more than 35,000 dairy farms worldwide (Salfer et al, 2019). With AMS, frequent and consistent visits are thought to be encouraged by the provision of a palatable feed in the AMS (Jacobs and Siegford, 2012; Bach and Cabrera, 2017). With 7 min/milking (Castro et al, 2012), pellet consumption rates between 250 and 400 g/min (Kertz et al, 1981), and an average of 3 visits to the AMS per day (Bach et al, 2009; Deming et al, 2013; Paddick et al, 2019), AMS provisions >8 kg/d are unlikely to be completely delivered or consumed. Studies have reported that the discrepancy between the amount of feed programmed for delivery in the AMS, the amount delivered, and the amount consumed increases with increasing concentrate allocation in the AMS (Henriksen et al, 2019; Paddick et al, 2019). Feeding management in the AMS may affect partial mixed ration (PMR) formulation and PMR feeding behavior (Menajovsky et al, 2018; Paddick et al, 2019), suggesting that a comprehensive evaluation of AMS feeding management must include PMR feeding behavior
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