Efectos de dos sistemas de alimentación sobre el comportamiento alimentario, la conducta social y la producción y calidad de la leche en vacuno

In the present experiment, the effect of various feeding systems on milk productivity and quality was studied, as well as the different social interactions and feeding behaviour of Friesian cows. In order to analyze the effects of supplementation on productivity, milk quality and behavior, an experimental design was carried out consisting of 2 treatments, Total mixed ration (TMR) and TMR supplied with feed, organized in factorial form 2x2 (Latin square) whose main effect was the addition with 1.8 kg of complementary feed. There were 2 replicates per treatment, and the experimental unit was of 2 lots with 20 cows. The experiment lasted 6 weeks (2 periods of 3 weeks). The supplemented animals increased their milk production by 3.65l. (p equal too 0.02), the total dry matter intake (DMI) increased about 1.25Kg (TMR plus feed; p less than 0.0001), and the DMI of the TMR decreased about 0.53kg (p less than 0.0001). The effects of stocking density on productivity and milk quality were also analysed. For this purpose, an experimental design was carried out that consisted of 2 treatments: high density (1cubicle per cow and 0.75 feeder per cow) and low density (2cubicles per cow and 1.5 feeders per animal). There were 2 replicates per treatment, and the experimental unit was of 2 lots with 20 cows, and 2 lots with 10 cows. The experiment lasted 6 weeks (2 periods of 3 weeks). Understocking animals increased their milk production by 3.32l. (p less than 0.0001), the DMI increased about 3,03kg (p less than 0.0001), and the positive behaviors observed in each focal increased (p=0.02). Finally, the different hierarchies (dominant, neutral, submissive) were analyzed according to multiple criteria (social interactions, use of cubicles, order of arrival at the feeder, and order of arrival at the milking parlor) on the productive parameters and the feeding behavior (daily DMI, daily feeding time, feeding rate…). It was seen that dominant animals differed from submissive by having a higher body weigth, producing less milk with more fat and more protein, higher DMI, longer daily feeding time, and lower feeding rate