Researches on Consumption Speed of Forages in Dairy Cows when Fed in Three Portions

Abstract

In this study we assessed the consumption speed (g/min), as well as the required time for consumption of 1 kg of raw forage for alfalfa-hay, herbs silage, beet and concentrates), administered in three portions (P1, P2, and P3) per day, in 2 equal feedings (F1, F2) per portion., to Romanian Black and White cows. The administration order of forages (fibrous-succulents and succulents-fibrous), the number of feedings and the average consumption speed among the three portions were the experimental variants. Data was computed by ANOVA/MANOVA. The highest consumption speed was registered for herbs silage (237.41 g/min), followed by the beets (233.43 g/min), concentrates (180.89) and alfalfa hay (48.89 g/min). The required time for 1 kg of raw forage consumption (minutes and seconds) was 5.32 for concentrates, 20.27 for alfalfa hay, 4.13 for herbs silage and 4.17 for beets.

Keywords

• consumption speed
• nutritional behaviour
• romanian black and white cows