We examined the walking parameters of milking cows in relation to hoof trimming. The hooves of eight Holstein cows were trimmed. Two days before and after the hoof trimming, walking behavior, limb angles, back posture and vertical movement of the back while walking were measured. Walking rate (1.27 vs 0.87 m/s; P = 0.003), step length (1.46 vs 1.33 m; P = 0.009) and stepping rate (0.78 vs 0.65 steps/s; P = 0.046) were found to increase significantly after hoof trimming. Limb angles at the start and end of the support phase changed significantly after hoof trimming, thus indicating an improvement in the 'on tiptoe' appearance. The parameters relating to backline indicated that the marked arched shape of the back diminished after hoof trimming. Before hoof trimming, the positions of the withers varied widely and irregularly while walking; however, it changed after hoof trimming as the sinusoid curve and the range of vertical movement of withers decreased significantly. Overall, it has been quantitatively indicated that walking characteristics are improved after hoof trimming. The parameters used in the present study are expected to be useful for monitoring the walking characteristics of cows.
The objective of this study was to quantify nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) use and cycling in a dairy farming system. The data were collected from the experimental farm at the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, using about 11 ha of forage crop fields and about 30 dairy cows. Forage crops grown in the field were ensiled and offered to the cows, and the subsequent compost from the animals' excretion was applied to the field. The dairy farming system consisted of soil/crop, feed storage, animal, and compost components. Nutrient inputs and outputs and flows of the soil-plant-animal pathway for the whole farm and each component were measured for 5 years. Nutrient utilization was evaluated using nutrient balances, use efficiencies, and cycling indices. The 5 year average nutrient balances and nutrient use efficiencies of N, P, and K for the whole farm (kg ha -1 year -1 ) were 378, 97, and 199 and 0.25, 0.19, and 0.18, respectively. The characteristics of nutrient balances and use efficiencies for each component differed among N, P, and K. The average cycling indices of N, P, and K were 0.12, 0.11, and 0.37, respectively. Significant positive relationships between use efficiencies and cycling indices were observed in N and K. Year-to-year variations in flows were relatively large for compost application. The results suggested that improving N balance would be the most effective option for solving many of the environmental problems related to dairy farming.
The first and second cuttings of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) were harvested without wilting to produce round‐baled silages. The palatability of fermented total mixed ration (TMR) was compared to that of fresh TMR, for which these round‐baled silages were the only roughage source. The fermented TMR was prepared from the silages opened after 40 days of the harvest, and was preserved as fermented TMR in drum silos until the palatability test. The fresh TMR was prepared from the silages opened after 132 days (first cutting) or 80 days (second cutting) of the harvest. The fermented TMR tended to show better palatability by animals than fresh TMR when the TMR were prepared from the first‐cutting silages, however, there was no palatability difference between the two TMR when they were prepared from the second‐cutting silages. Although the chemical compositions of the silages used for the two TMR were mostly similar, the butyric acid content in the first‐cutting silages was higher for fresh TMR (0.45%) than for fermented TMR (0.05%). The butyric acid content in the second‐cutting silages was less than 0.03% for both TMR. It was thus suggested that enhanced butyric fermentation during the preservation of the first‐cutting silages decreased the palatability of fresh TMR. The results indicate that if the round‐baled silage is of low fermentative quality for reasons such as ensiling under insufficient wilting conditions, the decrease in palatability can be suppressed by preserving it as fermented TMR before further enhancement of butyric fermentation in the silages.
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