How group feeding influences intake level of hay and feeding behaviour of beef cows

During winter, beef cows in large herds are now more often accommodated wit h group feeding systems. However, the recommended allowances for feeding be ef cows are primarily based on results obtained with tethered animals. The feed intake and feeding behaviour of 47 Charolais cows fed hay ad libitum w ere thus compared over two successive winters in a stanchion tie-stall syst em (TS) and in a loose housing system (LH) using 24 barren dry cows and 23 lactating cows. Loose-housed cows consumed 0.8 kg of dry matter (DM) less t han tethered cows. This difference depended on the physiological state of t he cows. Barren dry cows had a similar daily voluntary intake in both housi ng systems, but spent 35 min longer eating in the LH system. Lactating cows spent the same time (5 h 50 min) eating in both housing systems but ate 1. 1 kg of DM less in the LH system. There was a substantial individual variab ility for the modifications of intake and feeding behaviour between tethere d and loose-housed systems. This variability seemed to be dependent upon th e individual nutritional requirements of the cows. The small leanest cows, having a low milk yield, increased their intake when loose-housed. They als o maintained their rate of intake, which decreased for about 7 to 8 g DM.mi n(-l) for their counterparts with high requirements. ((C) Elsevier / Inra).