Feed restriction of F1 Holstein × Zebu cows in the final third of lactation modifies intake, nutrient digestibility, feeding behavior, and performance

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of quantitative feed restriction level on nutrient intake and digestibility, nitrogen balance, efficiency and feeding behavior, and productive performance of F1 Holstein × Zebu cows in late lactation. Sixty F1 Holstein × Zebu cows were used at the stage of late lactation (183.0±17.5 days of lactation) and with initial body weight (BW) of 499±30 kg. The experimental arrangement adopted was the completely randomized design, with five feed restriction levels (3.39, 2.75, 2.50, 2.25, and 2.00% of BW) and twelve cows as replicates for each treatment. The roughage:concentrate ratio was of 75:25 in the total dry matter of the diet. The restriction of dietary supply from 3.39 to 2.0% of BW linearly reduced dry matter intake by 51.74%. The restriction in diet supply linearly increased dry matter digestibility in 13.76%. For each 1% BW restriction in the diet supply for the animals, there was a linear reduction of 3 h in feeding time. Restriction in diet supply of crossbred cows from 3.39 to 2.0% of BW reduced milk production by 24.84%. For each 1% restriction on supply, 2.17 L of milk were not produced. Milk production corrected to 3.5% fat was not altered with the feed restriction. Final BW decreased 41 kg for each percentage unit of diet restriction. Feed efficiency increased 28.72% with feed restriction. For F1 Holstein × Zebu cows in the late lactation, the restriction of dietary supply up to 2.0% of body weight decreases nutrient intake, nitrogen balance, rumination time, and milk production; however, it improves nutrient digestibility and feed efficiency of the animals.

Precision feed restriction improves feed and milk efficiencies and reduces methane emissions of less efficient lactating Holstein cows without impairing their performance

“…Applying a feed restriction to the least efficient cows may then improve their feed efficiency without compromising their production performance. Feed restriction is known to improve efficiency of nutrient use, with usually a significant decrease in milk volume and milk solids production (Ben Meir et al, 2019;Herve et al, 2019;Santana et al, 2019). In these studies, animals were all restricted at the same level.…”

Feeding F1 Holstein x Zebu cows with different roughages and pseudostem hay of banana trees does not influence milk yield and chemical composition of milk and cheese

“…The higher iNDF concentration (227.4 g/kg) in the EGPS diet implies less fibrous fraction degradability, which limited the TDN intake in this diet, indicating lower energy availability for rumen fermentation (Borges et al 2019). However, Monção et al (2020 and Santana et al (2019Santana et al ( , 2020 recommended DMI for F1 Holstein/Zebu cows in the order of 2.50% BW. In this study, although lower DMI was found in cows that received the EGSP and SCPS diet, the DMI is above 2.50% BW not impairing the performance of the animals as justified by milk yield that did not change between treatments.…”

“…In the semiarid region of Brazil, sorghum silage (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) It is traditionally used as a roughage (fibre source) for feedlot dairy cows due to tolerance to water restriction, mechanisable and high productivity per unit area and good nutritional value (Borges et al 2019). However, the feed cost under these conditions is high (Borges et al 2019;Santana et al 2019Santana et al , 2020. The use of traditional ingredients or byproducts and/or agribusiness wastes available in each region in the formulation of diets is a strategy to reduce feed costs and improve system efficiency.…”

Correlações entre as características produtivas e nutricionais do capim-BRS capiaçu manejado na região semiárida

“…Isso ocorreu porque as condições edafoclimáticas, na maioria das regiões do país, tem favorecido a elevada produtividade de massa forrageira por unidade de área com bom valor nutricional, o que tem reduzido os custos com alimentação e, consequentemente, de produção (MONÇÃO et al 2019 ab). Entretanto, na região semiárida do Brasil ainda existem lacunas na produção animal (baixos índices zootécnicos) em função do déficit nutricional dos animais ruminantes, na maioria bovinos, devido aos longos períodos de estiagem, provocando variações na produção e qualidade da forragem ao longo do ano (MONÇÃO et al 2019a;SANTANA et al 2019).…”