title: Effect of feeding frequency of a total mixed ration on the performance of high-yielding dairy cows.
abstract: Forty Finnish Ayrshire cows, 16 primiparous and 24 multiparous, were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments (FF1 or FF5). Total mixed ration (TMR) was fed once a day on the FF1 treatment and 5 times a day on the FF5 treatment. The experiment began at calving and continued to wk 28 of lactation. The TMR consisted of a grass silage and concentrate mix. The amount of concentrate in the TMR was 51% on a DM basis. The feeding frequency had no effect on milk or energy-corrected milk yields or on milk composition. The average energy-corrected milk yield was 32.8 kg/d on the FF1 treatment and 32.5 kg/d on the FF5 treatment. The less frequent feeding increased the dry matter intake (DMI) of cows. The average DMI during the experiment was 20.9 kg/d on the FF1 treatment and 19.9 kg/d on the FF5 treatment. The difference in DMI was due to the differences in DMI of the mature cows. Energy and protein conversion tended to be lower with feeding once a day compared with feeding 5 times a day. The cows' feeding behavior was also observed. Cows fed 5 times a day tended to eat quite evenly after each delivery, whereas on the FF1 treatment there were 2 clear feeding peaks in the evening after the feed delivery. The time spent eating during the observation period was longer on FF5 than on FF1. The cows fed once a day spent more time lying than the cows fed 5 times a day. Based on the observations of feeding behavior, feeding a TMR 5 times a day seemed to be too frequent based on the increased restlessness and decreased lying time of the cows.
authors.affiliation: MTT, Agrifood Research Finland, Animal Production Research, FIN-31600 Jokioinen, Finland. paivi.mantysaari@mtt.fi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mäntysaari
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khalili
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sariola
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D011897:Random Allocation; D013997:Time Factors