Effect of dietary protein level and corn processing on behavior activity of high producing dairy cows

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of corn processing and protein level on the feeding, lying, and post milking standing (PMS) behavior in high producing cows. Eight Holstein cows were randomly assigned to diets containing either finely ground (FGC) or steam flaked (SFC) corn based on either low (LP) or high (HP) protein content. Cows receiving LP had lower milk yield than cows receiving HP with similar DMI. Moreover, FGC-fed cows had higher DMI than SFC-fed cows with similar milk yields. Eating and rumination time tended to be lower and chewing time was lower in HP-fed cows than LP-fed cows. Cows fed SFC tended to have higher laying rumination interval and lower lying rumination bouts than cows fed FGC. Total and average PMS were lower in cows fed HP than LP. Cows fed LP had higher chewing activity in the daytime than cows fed HP. Our results suggested that the protein level and corn processing affect the standing and lying behavior of high producing dairy cows, although, this effect is marginal. Results also indicated that probably any change in the diet that increases the rumination and eating times could also improve the PMS.

Keywords:
Behavior pattern; corn flacking; dietary protein level; lying behavior

Authorship

Hassan Rafiee ^** Author for correspondence. E-mails: h.rafiee@areoo.ac.ir; harafiee@yahoo.com

Animal Science Research Department, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Isfahan, Iran. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension OrganizationIranIsfahan, IranAnimal Science Research Department, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Isfahan, Iran.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4230-2598

Msaoud Alikhani

Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.Isfahan University of TechnologyIranIsfahan, IranDepartment of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.

Gholam Reza Ghorbani

* Author for correspondence. E-mails: h.rafiee@areoo.ac.ir; harafiee@yahoo.com

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Figures | Tables

Figures (1)
Tables (6)

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Figure 1
Diurnal pattern for rumination time, lying time, and feeding time for high producing dairy cows fed TMR twice daily (approximately 0930 and 1730h; indicated with arrows black arrows) and milked three times per day (approximately 0900, 1700 and 0100h; indicated with white arrows). SFHP = steam flaked corn with high level of protein, SFLP = steam flaked corn with a low level of protein, FGHP = finely ground corn with a high level of protein, FGLP = finely ground corn with a low level of protein.

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Table 1
Ingredients and chemical composition of experimental diets on DM basis.

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Table 2
Least squares means of chewing activity of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

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Table 3
Least squares means of standing and lying rumination of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

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Table 4
Least squares means of total standing and lying of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

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Table 5
Least squares means of post milk standing (PMS) of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

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Table 6
Least squares means of diurnal variations in behavior activity of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

Figure 1 Diurnal pattern for rumination time, lying time, and feeding time for high producing dairy cows fed TMR twice daily (approximately 0930 and 1730h; indicated with arrows black arrows) and milked three times per day (approximately 0900, 1700 and 0100h; indicated with white arrows). SFHP = steam flaked corn with high level of protein, SFLP = steam flaked corn with a low level of protein, FGHP = finely ground corn with a high level of protein, FGLP = finely ground corn with a low level of protein.

Table 1 Ingredients and chemical composition of experimental diets on DM basis.

Item	SFC¹		FGC
Item	HP	LP	HP	LP
Alfalfa hay	15.44	15.45	15.44	15.45
Corn silage	23.17	23.17	23.17	23.17
Ground corn grain	0	0	39.38	39.40
Flake corn grain	39.38	39.40	0	0
Soybean meal	11.66	8.11	11.66	8.11
Fish meal	3.01	2.32	3.01	2.32
Bypass soybean meal	2.05	4.44	2.05	4.44
Urea	0.31	0.08	0.31	0.08
Beet pulp	1.12	3.17	1.12	3.17
Calcium salts of fatty acids²	1.74	1.74	1.74	1.74
Sodium bicarbonate	0.69	0.69	0.69	0.69
Magnesium oxide	0.31	0.31	0.31	0.31
Dicalcium phosphate	0.12	0.12	0.12	0.12
White salt	0.08	0.08	0.08	0.08
Mineral and vitamin Premix³	0.92	0.92	0.92	0.92
Chemical composition
DM, % of diet	55.52	55.54	56.32	56.01
NE_L ⁴, Mcal kg^-1 DM	1.76	1.76	1.62	1.62
OM	92.40	92.49	92.53	92.86
CP	16.12	14.75	16.28	14.88
NDF	31.78	31.76	30.86	30.94
ADF	14.42	14.33	13.70	13.89
Ether extract	4.65	4.64	4.69	4.66
NFC⁵	39.84	41.34	40.68	42.37

¹SFC = steam flake corn; FGC = finely ground corn; HP = high protein; LP = low protein. ²Nutracor, Wawasan, Malaysia. Composition: Ash 13%, Moisture 3%, Calcium 9%, Crude fat 85% (С12:0, 0.2%; С14:0, 1.2%; С16:0, 47%; С18:0, 5%; С18:1, 38%; С18:2, 8%). ³Composition: 195 g kg^-1 of Ca, 21 g kg^-1 of Mg, 2.2 g kg^-1 of Mn, 0.3 g kg^-1 of Zn, 0.3 g kg^-1 of Cu, 0.12 g kg^-1 of I, 0.1 g kg^-1 of Co, 600,000 IU kg^-1 of vitamin A, 200,000 IU kg^-1 of vitamin D, and 0.2 g kg^-1 of vitamin E, 0.025 g kg^-1 of Se. ⁴Calculated from NRC (2001). ⁵Nonfibrous carbohydrates [NFC = OM - (NDF + CP + EE)] where EE = ether extract.

Table 2 Least squares means of chewing activity of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

Item	SFC		FGC		SEM	Contrast¹
Item	HP	LP	HP	LP	SEM	P	CP	P×CP
Dry matter intake, kg d^-1	26.69	26.04	28.03	28.00	0.57	<0.01	0.26	0.30
Milk yield, kg d^-1	46.93	45.41	47.17	45.14	1.51	0.96	<0.01	0.65
Eating
Min. d^-1	345.62	366.25	338.13	361.67	11.17	0.59	0.06	0.89
Bout d^-1	14.00	14.12	14.62	13.65	0.85	0.92	0.62	0.52
Min. bout^-1	25.42	26.12	23.67	27.74	1.79	0.97	0.19	0.35
Interval, min.	83.43	79.96	80.01	85.69	5.15	0.81	0.82	0.35
Rumination
Min. d^-1	476.25	496.25	475.00	498.80	15.54	0.95	0.08	0.87
Bout d^-1	15.62	15.00	16.00	14.73	0.91	0.93	0.17	0.64
Min. bout^-1	31.01	34.08	30.48	35.79	2.45	0.68	<0.01	0.43
Interval, min.	59.56	60.13	58.65	64.43	3.47	0.61	0.34	0.43
Total chewing activity
Min. d^-1	821.88	862.50	813.13	861.53	19.29	0.75	<0.01	0.79
Bout d^-1	29.50	29.50	30.75	28.24	1.32	0.99	0.31	0.31
Min. bout^-1	28.31	29.62	26.81	31.48	1.70	0.89	0.03	0.21
Interval, min.	24.36	22.56	23.57	23.58	1.25	0.93	0.48	0.48

¹Contrasts for P (corn processing effect), CP (protein level effect) and interaction (P×CP).

Table 3 Least squares means of standing and lying rumination of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

Item	SFC		FGC		SEM	Contrast¹
Item	HP	LP	HP	LP	SEM	P	CP	P×CP
Standing rumination
Min. d^-1	89.37	95.00	70.00	69.06	24.01	0.16	0.88	0.83
Bout d^-1	5.37	4.62	5.25	4.97	0.86	0.87	0.49	0.74
Min. bout^-1	15.03	16.92	12.84	14.85	2.80	0.23	0.27	0.97
Interval	251.88	327.43	237.43	250.06	46.32	0.25	0.27	0.42
Lying rumination
Min. d^-1	386.87	401.25	405.00	428.77	26.62	0.18	0.26	0.78
Bout d^-1	13.50	12.87	14.12	14.74	0.93	0.03	0.99	0.26
Min. bout^-1	28.75	31.73	29.38	30.70	2.23	0.88	0.13	0.55
Interval	76.19	79.08	72.44	67.70	6.34	0.07	0.81	0.35

¹Contrasts for P (corn processing effect), CP (protein level effect) and interaction (P×CP).

Table 4 Least squares means of total standing and lying of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

Item	SFC		FGC		SEM	Contrast¹
Item	HP	LP	HP	LP	SEM	P	CP	P×CP
Total standing
Min. d^-1	676.25	680.62	663.75	643.18	32.3	0.29	0.73	0.59
Bout d^-1	11.62	11.12	11.87	11.95	0.83	0.33	0.70	0.59
Min. bout^-1	59.56	69.09	58.66	56.12	7.70	0.21	0.52	0.27
Interval	73.53	79.60	75.48	75.55	5.52	0.83	0.54	0.55
Total lying
Min. d^-1	763.75	759.38	776.25	796.82	32.31	0.29	0.73	0.59
Bout d^-1	10.75	10.12	10.87	10.93	0.82	0.41	0.62	0.54
Min. bout^-1	74.23	79.61	75.49	75.47	5.63	0.78	0.60	0.60
Interval	59.62	69.15	58.65	56.12	7.79	0.21	0.52	0.28

¹Contrasts for P (corn processing effect), CP (protein level effect) and interaction (P×CP).

Table 5 Least squares means of post milk standing (PMS) of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

Item	SFC		FGC		SEM	Contrast¹
Item	HP	LP	HP	LP	SEM	P	CP	P×CP
Total PMS (min. d^-1)	176.88	201.25	175.00	193.57	10.90	0.54	0.01	0.71
Average PMS (min. d^-1)	58.96	67.08	58.33	64.52	3.63	0.54	0.01	0.71
PMS at 0900h (min.)	66.25	78.12	68.12	73.19	5.85	0.70	0.04	0.39
PMS at 1700h (min.)	66.25	65.62	61.25	66.89	4.52	0.66	0.56	0.47
PMS at 0100h (min.)	44.37	57.50	45.62	53.85	6.21	0.85	0.10	0.70
SCS²	4.62	4.67	4.47	4.30	0.23	0.22	0.76	0.61

¹Contrasts for P (corn processing effect), CP (protein level effect) and interaction (P×CP). ²SCS = Somatic cell scores.

Table 6 Least squares means of diurnal variations in behavior activity of high producing dairy cows (n = 8) fed diets containing either high (HP) or low (LP) level of protein supplemented with either finely ground (FGC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC).

Item	SFC		FGC		SEM	Contrast¹
Item	HP	LP	HP	LP	SEM	P	CP	P×CP
Day
Chewing	408.75	432.50	403.13	437.34	14.25	0.97	0.05	0.72
Eating	220.63	231.25	216.25	231.30	11.64	0.85	0.29	0.85
Lying	324.38	328.75	333.75	338.59	20.35	0.57	0.78	0.98
Standing	395.63	385.63	386.25	381.78	21.05	0.71	0.68	0.87
Rumination	188.12	201.25	186.87	204.51	9.37	0.90	0.08	0.79
Rumination lying	146.88	159.38	160.63	177.13	13.71	0.07	0.10	0.81
Rumination standing	43.12	35.00	26.87	26.92	10.61	0.13	0.60	0.60
Night
Chewing	412.50	435.62	410.62	421.52	14.41	0.49	0.15	0.59
Eating	125.00	135.00	121.88	132.86	7.00	0.68	0.11	0.93
Lying	442.50	431.25	443.13	444.91	17.72	0.63	0.75	0.66
Standing	277.50	288.75	276.88	264.98	17.66	0.39	0.98	0.41
Rumination	287.50	300.62	288.75	287.73	12.16	0.52	0.51	0.44
Rumination lying	240.62	238.75	245.00	251.80	15.15	0.48	0.84	0.72
Rumination standing	46.25	60.00	43.12	42.68	16.12	0.38	0.56	0.54

¹Contrasts for P (corn processing effect), CP (protein level effect) and interaction (P×CP).

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Effect of dietary protein level and corn processing on behavior activity of high producing dairy cows

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[1] * Author for correspondence. E-mails: h.rafiee@areoo.ac.ir; harafiee@yahoo.com