title: Quantifying body water kinetics and fecal and urinary water output from lactating Holstein dairy cows.
abstract: Reliable estimates of fresh manure water output from dairy cows help to improve storage design, enhance efficiency of land application, quantify the water footprint, and predict nutrient transformations during manure storage. The objective of the study was to construct a mechanistic, dynamic, and deterministic mathematical model to quantify urinary and fecal water outputs (kg/d) from individual lactating dairy cows. The model contained 4 body water pools: reticulorumen (QRR), post-reticulorumen (QPR), extracellular (QEC), and intracellular (QIC). Dry matter (DM) intake, dietary forage, DM, crude protein, acid detergent fiber and ash contents, milk yield, and milk fat and protein contents, days in milk, and body weight were input variables to the model. A set of linear equations was constructed to determine drinking, feed, and saliva water inputs to QRR and fractional water passage from QRR to QPR. Water transfer via the rumen wall was subjected to changes in QEC and total water input to QRR. Post-reticulorumen water passage was adjusted for DM intake. Metabolic water production and respiratory cutaneous water losses were estimated with functions of heat production in the model. Water loss in urine was driven by absorbed N left after being removed via milk. Model parameters were estimated simultaneously using observed fecal and urinary water output data from lactating Holstein cows (n=670). The model was evaluated with data that were not used for model development and optimization (n=377). The observations in both data sets were related to thermoneutral conditions. The model predicted drinking water intake, fecal, urinary, and total fresh manure water output with root mean square prediction errors as a percentage of average values of 18.1, 15.6, 30.6, and 14.6%, respectively. In all cases, >97% of the prediction error was due to random variability of data. The model can also be used to determine saliva production, heat and metabolic water production, respiratory cutaneous water losses, and size of major body water pools in lactating Holstein cows under thermoneutral conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis 95616. Electronic address: jaappuhamy@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: J A D R N
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Appuhamy
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wagner-Riddle
authors.affiliation: Department of Dairy Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings 57007.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Casper
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition Modelling, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: France
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis 95616.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kebreab
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D001835:Body Weight; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004326:Drinking; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D007700:Kinetics; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology*; D008372:Manure / Q000032:analysis; D008892:Milk; D008954:Models, Biological; D012417:Rumen / Q000378:metabolism; D012463:Saliva / Q000502:physiology; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D008372:Manure; D014867:Water
keywords: dairy cow; manure water; mechanistic model; water intake