Short communication: Feed selection by dairy cows fed individually in a tie-stall or as a group in a free-stall barn.
The objectives of the present study were to compare feed selection in tie- vs. free-stall barns and also to verify possible correlations between feed selection and milk composition. Forty multiparous and 20 primiparous lactating Holstein cows were utilized in a crossover design with 21-d periods. Cows were randomly divided into 2 groups; group 1 was housed in a free-stall barn during period 1 and a tie-stall barn during period 2, and vice versa for group 2. In the free-stall barn, 18 extra cows were also present. Animals were fed the same diet once daily in the free-stall barn at 1100 h and twice daily at 1100 and 1500 h in the tie-stall barn to obtain approximately 10% daily refusals in both facilities. Group feed selection in the free-stall barn was measured and compared with the group feed selection in the tie-stall barn, obtained by summing individual feed offered and refused. Feed selection was analyzed including treatment and period in the model. Sequence effect and true error were combined into a single degree of freedom error term. Intake of the longest particles expressed as a percentage of the predicted intake was 73.2% in a tie-stall barn and 63.3% in a free-stall barn. There were no significant correlations between individual feed selection measured in the tie-stall barn and milk composition. Feed selection estimates made with individually fed cows are likely to underestimate average feed selection in a free-stall barn.
Leonardi
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Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706, USA.
Armentano
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D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods*; D005248:Feeding Methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D011897:Random Allocation