Using knowledge of dairy cow behaviour to improve feeding management

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There is much recent evidence demonstrating that the behavioural patterns of lactating dairy cattle have significant effect on cow health, welfare, production efficiency. Management practices that cause dairy cows to eat fewer, faster, and larger meals and to sort their ration more are associated with an increased incidence of sub-acute ruminal acidosis, a condition associated with reduced digestibility, feed efficiency, and milk fat production. In addition to feeding behaviours, standing and lying behaviour patterns of lactating dairy cattle also affect cow health; discouraging cows from lying down immediately after milking has been shown to assist in the prevention of subclinical and clinical mastitis. Traditionally, dairy cows are milked and fed twice daily. In recent years, a significant proportion of dairy producers have transitioned to a 3x/d milking schedule, as it is well known that increased milking frequency will increase production. There are also an increasing proportion of dairy producers adopting automated (robotic) milking systems; a benefit of these systems is the ability to have cows milked more frequently than the traditional 2x/d. It is largely unknown how milking frequency impacts cow behaviour patterns. Also, in recent years, many dairy producers have opted to deliver feed to dairy cows only 1x/d to minimize labour costs. No research has evaluated the effect of feeding frequency for cows managed under 3x/d milking frequency. The timing of that delivery may also impact cow behavioural patterns. Despite this, there is no research that describes the optimal timing of feed delivery. The overall objective of this research is to identify feeding management practices that can be implemented to promote desirable behavioural patterns that are conducive to greater health, efficiency of production, and welfare of dairy cows. The experiments planned will investigate the effects of milking frequency, feeding frequency, and the timing of feed delivery on the behaviour, production, health, and efficiency of lactating dairy cows. Overall, this research will be focused on identifying feeding management strategies that contribute directly to improve dairy cattle health and welfare, as well as to promote greater efficiency of production.