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Conference poster2008Peer reviewed

Influence of silage structure on feeding behaviour and abnormal behaviours in dairy heifers

Nielsen, Per Peetz; Nadeau, Elisabet; Gustavsson, M; Lidback, F; Lidfors, Lena

Abstract

The combined effects of maturity and particle size (PS) and the single effect of PS in grass silage on feeding behaviour and abnormal behaviours in dairy heifers were investigated. The study included two trials, where early cut (11.6 MJ, 510 g NDF kg-1 DM) grass silage with a PS of 231 (±147) mm was compared to a late cut (10.0 MJ, 643 g NDF kg-1 DM) silage with a PS of 373 (±245 mm) in experiment 1, whereas grass silages (534 and 540 g NDF kg-1 DM) with two PS, 26 (±8.3) vs. 254 (±40), were compared in experiment 2. Both trials were conducted as a change-over design. Heifers spent less time eating but more time ruminating when fed the early cut and short silages compared to the late cut and long silages. However, heifers spent more time being idle when fed the early cut and short silages. These differences in eating behaviours resulted in higher probabilities for abnormal behaviours, such as licking the fixture, when heifers were fed the early cut and the short silages. The percentages of observations for abnormal behaviours were less than 2% for both treatments and did not affect the performance of the heifers

Keywords

forage mmaturity; silage particle size; feeding; behaviour

Published in

Grassland Science in Europe
2008, Volume: 13, pages: 837-839 Title: Biodiversity and Animal Feed : Future Challenges for Grassland Production
ISBN: 978-91-85911-47-9Publisher: Organising Committee of the 22nd General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Conference

The 22nd General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation