Effect of Feeding Level and Breed on the Daily Activity Budget of Lactating Beef Cows Fed Total Mixed Ration

Javier Álvarez-Rodríguez, Isabel Casasús, Isabel Blanco-Penedo and Albina Sanz
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Javier Álvarez-Rodríguez: Departamento de Ciencia Animal, Universidad de Lleida, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Isabel Casasús: Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA)—IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
Isabel Blanco-Penedo: Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Albina Sanz: Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA)—IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of two feeding levels and two breeds on the daily activity budget of indoor-housed lactating beef cows fed total mixed ration (TMR). We used a total of 20 cows from Parda de Montaña (PA, n = 14) and Pirenaica (PI, n = 6) breeds. To evaluate the feeding level, PA cows were fed the TMR at the maintenance level and in a restricted amount. To evaluate the breed effect, PA and PI cows were fed at maintenance. All cows were video recorded for 24 consecutive hours at weeks 3, 8 and 13 of lactation. Scan sampling at 10-min intervals was used to obtain information on their daily activity budget. The restricted feeding level did not affect the time standing or lying, but it reduced the time eating the TMR and increased the time exploring and/or eating straw bedding. Both breeds showed a similar daily activity budget, except for the time that they spent foraging straw, which was lower in PA than in PI breed. In conclusion, feeding level and breed of lactating beef cows fed on TMR during the indoor housing period did not affect the main contributors to the daily activity budget.

Keywords: cattle; behaviour; indoor; restricted feeding; suckler cows (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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