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Feeding of Pellets Rich in Digestible Neutral Detergent Fiber to Lactating Cows in an Automatic Milking System

I. Halachmi^*,1, E. Shoshani, R. Solomon, E. Maltz^* and J. Miron^*

^* Agricultural Research Organization (A.R.O), P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Extension Service, Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, P.O. Box 28, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel

¹ Corresponding author: halachmi{at}volcani.agri.gov.il

If the milking frequency in an automatic milking system (AMS) is increased, the intake of concentrated pellets in the robot may be raised accordingly. Consumption of a large quantity of starchy grains within a short time can impair the appetite, decrease voluntary visits to the milking stall, and lower intakes of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Therefore, the hypothesis to be tested in this study was whether conventional starchy pellets fed in the AMS could be replaced with pellets rich in digestible NDF without impairing the cows’ motivation to visit a milking stall voluntarily. Fifty-four cows were paired according to age, milk yield, and days in milk, and were fed a basic mixture along the feeding lane (19.9 kg of DM/cow per d), plus a pelleted additive (approximately 5.4 kg of DM/cow per d) that they obtained in the milking stall and in the concentrate self-feeder that they could enter only after passing through the milking stall. The 2 feeding regimens differed only in the composition of the pelleted additive, which, for the control group, contained 49% starchy grain, and for the experimental group contained 25% starchy grain plus soy hulls and gluten feed as replacement for part of the grain and other low-digestible, NDF-rich feeds. Both diets resulted in similar rates of voluntary milkings (3.31 vs. 3.39 visits/cow per d). Average yields of milk and percentages of milk protein were also similar in the 2 groups. The results suggest that an alternative pellet composition can be allocated in the AMS in conjunction with basic mixture in the feeding lane, without any negative effect on appetite, milk yield, milk composition, or milking frequency of the cows. It also opens the opportunity to increase yields of milk and milk solids by increasing the amount of pelleted concentrates that can be allocated to selected high-yielding cows via the AMS, because this can be done while maintaining a high frequency of voluntary milkings.

Key Words: individual feeding management • milking robot • milking frequency • starchy pellet

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				A. Bach, C. Iglesias, S. Calsamiglia, and M. Devant Effect of Amount of Concentrate Offered in Automatic Milking Systems on Milking Frequency, Feeding Behavior, and Milk Production of Dairy Cattle Consuming High Amounts of Corn Silage J Dairy Sci, November 1, 2007; 90(11): 5049 - 5055. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]