The effects of source and concentration of dietary fiber, starch, and fatty acids on the daily patterns of feed intake, rumination, and rumen pH in dairy cows

Abstract

The daily patterns of feed intake and rumination influence rumen fermentation, rumen pH, and timing of absorbed nutrients in the dairy cow, but the effects of diet composition on these patterns are not well characterized. Data from 3 previously published experiments were examined to determine the influence of dietary starch, fiber, and fatty acids (FA) on daily patterns of intake, rumination, and rumen pH. Dietary neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and starch were investigated in 2 experiments, each with duplicated 4 × 4 Latin square designs with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments in cows fed cows 1×/d at 1200 and 1400 h, respectively. To investigate fiber content and digestibility in the first experiment, brown midrib or isogenic conventional corn silage were fed in low- and high-NDF diets (29 and 38%, respectively). To investigate starch source and concentration in the second experiment, ground high-moisture corn or dry ground corn were fed in low- and high-starch diets (21 and 32%, respectively). Effect of fat concentration and saturation was investigated in the third experiment using a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design that fed cows 1×/d at 0900 h; treatments included a control diet with no added fat and 2.5% added saturated FA, unsaturated FA, or a mixture of the saturated and unsaturated FA. In the first 2 experiments, intake followed a similar daily pattern regardless of starch and NDF concentration or digestibility. Rumination displayed a treatment by time interaction for both NDF and starch concentration, with high-fiber, low-starch diets causing greater rumination overnight but not midday. High-starch diets decreased total daily rumen pH equally across the day, but did not change the daily pattern. Type of corn silage did not affect the daily patterns of rumination or rumen pH, but pH was reduced throughout the day in brown midrib diets. In the third experiment, no interactions between fatty acid supplement and time of day were observed for intake, rumination, or rumen pH. Within all experiments, rumination fit or tended to fit a 24-h rhythm regardless of diet, with the amplitude of the rumination being reduced in low-starch diets and diets containing saturated FA or a mixture of saturated and unsaturated FA. Overall, intake, rumination, and rumen pH follow a daily pattern that was minimally modified by dietary fiber and starch type and level or fat level and fatty acid profile.

Effects of three different diets on the fatty acid profile and sensory properties of fresh Pecorino cheese “Primo Sale”

“…As expected, the tatty acid composition in pasture is characterized by the highest content of linolenic acid, which can influence the bio-hydrogenation process in the rumen leading the production of some intermediates (C18:2 trans 10, cis 12) that can depress the de novo synthesis of fatty acids in the mammary gland. These results are consistent with previous results in sheep and cows [ 15 , 16 ]. This response has been previously reported in dairy sheep fed fresh Italian ryegrass with a low level of NDF, as in the present study [ 17 ].…”

Limiting total mixed ration availability alters eating and rumination patterns of lactating dairy cows

“…Figure 2 shows the patterns of rumination with ad libitum and restricted TMR. As anticipated, these are generally the inverse of eating times (Beauchemin et al, 1990;Sheahan et al, 2012;Salfer et al, 2018), with no marked differences in restricted or ad libitum feed availability except for the hours when feed was restricted. The TMR-restricted cows with or without hay ruminated for a large amount of time during the hours of TMR restriction.…”

“…Attempts to spread out this pH fluctuation by feeding high-forage diets during the day and diets higher in carbohydrates in the evening have not been successful, as cows modified their feeding behaviors (Ying et al, 2015). In addition, studies have looked at altering these patterns of rumination and rumen pH by modifying fiber, starch type, and amount as well as content and source of fat with little effect (Salfer et al, 2018). Other studies have shown that cows appear to have the ability to modify their feeding behavior with rumen pH changes.…”

“…The cows altered their physically effective fiber intake during a bout of SARA and later reverted to previous intake behaviors when rumen pH was more normal (Maulfair et al, 2013). However, environmental conditions and forage and feed types may negate the effect of low rumen pH on feed preference (Cooper et al, 2002;Salfer et al, 2018). Cavallini et al (2018) evaluated the physiological and production responses of cows that were fed a TMR for 19 or 24 h with or without supplemental long dry hay to improve the feed efficiency of the limit-fed diet.…”

Efecto de distintas dietas sobre el tiempo de rumia durante el periodo de predestete en reemplazos de lechería

“…Los patrones de rumia han sido ampliamente estudiados en ganado lechero adulto (DeVries, von Keyserlingk, Weary, & Beauchemin, 2003;Krause & Oetzel, 2006;Hosseinkhani et al, 2008;Adin et al, 2009;Schirmann, von Keyserlingk, Weary, Veira, & Heuwieser, 2009) y asociados a niveles de consumo de materia seca (Hasegawa, Nishiwaki, Sugawara, & Ito, 1997), composición y forma física de la dieta (Yang, Beauchemin, & Rode, 2001;Maekawa, Beauchemin, & Christensen, 2002;Salfer, Morelli, Ying, Allen, & Harvatine, 2018), estro (Reith & Hoy, 2012), estado salud (Radostits, Gay, Hinchcliff, & Constable, 2007) y bienestar animal (Bristow & Holmes, 2007;Schirmann, von Keyserlingk, Weary, Veira, & Heuwieser, 2009;Soriani, Trevisi, & Calamari, 2012). Incluso existen en el mercado collares con sensores de sonido capaces de registrar automáticamente la rumia y generar alertas a los productores cuando esta disminuye (Sistema de monitoreo de rumia Hi-Tag, SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel).…”