The effects of frequency of feeding on milk production of dairy cattle: an analysis of published results
TL;DR: It was concluded that cows producing milk of commercially acceptable milk fat concentrations were unlikely to benefit from increased feeding frequency, and increases in milk fat concentration through increasedfeeding frequency were generally insufficient to bring the milkfat concentration up to a commercially acceptable level.
Abstract: Automated feeding systems for dairy cows offer the benefits of ‘little and often’ feeding. Published data were collected and analysed to establish the extent of such benefits. Twenty-three publications reporting the results of 35 experiments were examined. Several statistically significant positive responses indicated that milk fat concentration, and to a lesser extent yield of milk, could sometimes be increased by increasing the feeding frequency. However, for ail experiments the average proportional increases (± s.e.) in milk fat concentration and milk yield were fairly small at 7·3 (± 3·3) % and 2·7 (± 1·3) %, respectively. The responses of milk fat concentration and milk yield were apparently correlated ( r = 0·43, s.e. = 0·20), and the mean proportional response of milk fat yield was 8·3 (± 3·1) %. There was no evidence that milk protein concentration, lactose concentration or changes in body weight were affected by changes in feeding frequency. Increases in food intake were sufficient to explain some, but not all, instances of increased milk fat production. All statistically significant responses to increased feeding frequency occurred when the milk fat concentration was originally depressed, milk fat depression generally being due to feeding pelleted or highly concentrated diets. Increases in milk fat concentration through increased feeding frequency were generally insufficient to bring the milk fat concentration up to a commercially acceptable level. All statistically significant responses were observed on moving from one or two to three or more meals per day, but the possibility of further responses beyond four meals per day could not be ruled out. It was concluded that cows producing milk of commercially acceptable milk fat concentrations were unlikely to benefit from increased feeding frequency.
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TL;DR: The relationship between feed constituents and milk composition is complex as mentioned in this paper, and the complexity of the interrelationships of the several different responses to a single dietary change suggest that mechanistic models covering complete nutrient utilization by the dairy cow may be necessary.
454 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the use of buffering agents in dairy cow diets are a function of salivary buffer secretion, feedstuff buffering capacity, and feed acidity, where buffer flow from saliva is inadequate, added dietary buffers may be justified.
369 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate that frequent delivery of feed improves access to feed for all cows, particularly during peak feeding periods when fresh feed is provided, and reduces the amount of feed sorting.
254 citations
Cites result from "The effects of frequency of feeding..."
...Previous research in this area has been focused on the effects on milk production and DMI; variable results were reported (Gibson, 1984; Nocek and Braund, 1985; Shabi et al., 1999; Dhiman et al., 2002)....
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TL;DR: The transition period can be divided into two distinct phases: 5 to 7 d prepartum, characterized by a 30% reduction in DMI, and 0 to 21 d postpartum, during which time intake should increase rapidly.
Abstract: Little research has focused specifically on the relationships among feeding behavior, management strategy, and optimal intake by the transition cow. Most information must be extrapolated from studies of cattle at other stages of lactation. The transition period can be divided into two distinct phases: 5 to 7 d prepartum, characterized by a 30% reduction in DMI, and 0 to 21 d postpartum, during which time intake should increase rapidly. Feed restriction can reduce number of daily meals by 50%, but when feed is offered for ad libitum consumption, with consistent time of feeding, access can be limited to 8 h daily with no adverse effects on performance of midlactation cows. Sequence of offering feeds may affect intake, but relative degradabilities of dietary protein and starch need to be considered. During early lactation, increased feeding frequency of a total mixed diet may most improve intake when dietary fermentability is moderate to high and management quality is poor. High-producing dairy cows achieve greater intake by increasing meal size and spending less time eating and ruminating per unit of intake. Control of feed intake and meal patterns may differ by parity and should be considered when grouping cattle. Daily exercise of tied dairy cows may not affect intake. Grouping strategy and group feeding behavior influence cow productivity and profitability. Competition for feed and space can be reduced by fenceline feeding vs bunks. Optimum intake during the transition period will occur only if feeding management accommodates normal feeding behavior of dairy cows.
245 citations
TL;DR: A model is proposed in which the first-order rate constant of cellulose digestion is determined by the pH at which the fermentation is initiated, and end product ratios reflect greater activity of the noncellulolytic population as pH declines.
137 citations
Cites background from "The effects of frequency of feeding..."
...…animal performance relative to feeding schedules in which ruminal pH displays greater fluctuations, e.g., when larger meals are presented less frequently (Elimam and Ørskov, 1985; Klusmeyer et al., 1990; Nocek and Braund, 1985; Shabbi et al., 1998 [see Gibson, 1984, for review of earlier work])....
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130 citations
TL;DR: The results support the concept that the major factors depressing milk fat test on high-concentrate diets involve a high level of glucogenic metabolites that reduce blood ketone and lipid levels and tend to stimulate a fattening type of metabolism at the expense of milk fat synthesis.
79 citations
TL;DR: There was no significant effect of level of feeding on the 20-week milk yield but there was a significant effect on the yield of the LYLP class in weeks 9–20, while live-weight changes were small and the largest variation was recorded in highyielding cows.
Abstract: SUMMARY An experiment has been made using adult lactating cows in a randomized block design to study the effectiveness of basing feeding during the first 20 weeks of lactation on yield predicted from that obtained during the 8–12th days of lactation. Cows were classified as high yielding (HY) or low yielding (LY). The levels of feeding were identical within each yield group during the first 8 weeks of lactation but during the 9th to the 20th week two different levels of concentrate feed (HP and LP) were used. Over the 20-week period concentrates were offered in two or five daily feeds. Thus the effect of two levels and two frequencies of feeding on feed intake, milk yield and composition, and on live-weight change were studied. Cows in the HY group achieved a mean daily peak yield 2·6 kg higher than predicted while those in the LY group achieved the predicted mean peak daily yield. There was no significant effect of level of feeding on the 20-week milk yield but there was a significant effect on the yield of the LYLP class in weeks 9–20. Frequency of feeding had no significant effect on yield in either high-low-yielding cows. There was no significant effect of level of feeding on milk composition but low-yielding cows gave milk with a higher fat percentage than high-yielding cows. Five-times-a-day feeding also produced milk with a higher fat percentage than twice-a-day feeding. Live-weight changes were small and the largest variation was recorded in highyielding cows. The number of days from calving to first service was not significantly different for the two yield groups but there was a significant effect of level of feeding.
41 citations
TL;DR: In a study with 21 lactating Guernsey cows, the effect of increased frequency of feeding on various production characteristics was reflected in trends of increasing pounds of milk production, pounds of 4% FCM, pounds and per cent of milk fat and pounds of solids-not-fat per cow as mentioned in this paper.
38 citations
01 Jan 1967
38 citations