Cow behavior indicators using various means of mechanization and automation of feed distribution and feeding

This work aimed to study the daily behavior of dairy cows under different options of feeding concentrated feeds. The research was conducted on two farms, the Terezine Dairy Farm, the central department, and the Vilna Tarasivka department. On the first farm, the cows are kept in free-range boxes, fed with complete feed mixtures, and delivered twice daily to the feeding table. On the second farm, the animals are also kept free-range with the rest in boxes, and milking is carried out voluntarily on eight automatic robots. Animals are fed with general mixed feed mixtures, which are delivered twice a day by self-propelled feed mixer-distributor Siloking to the feeding table. However, part of the concentrated feed (up to 50 % of the need) in the form of granules is received by animals individually during milking and at feeding stations located separately from the rest area of the animals. To conduct the study, there were formed two groups of cows (n = 87 and n = 97) of the second and third lactations on each farm in the new-calving period and the period of milking and insemination (before 100 days of lactation) with an average productivity of 28.3 ± 0.61 kg. When feeding stations were used to feed concentrated feeds to cows, the duration of total feed intake increased by 22 minutes. With this variant of feeding concentrated feeds, higher values of the indicators of the feed consumption reactions number and rumination reactions were observed – by 0.30 and 0.19 times, respectively. The duration of other behavioral indicators that affect animal productivity (lying rest, standing, walking, and drinking) was slightly more optimal in feeding concentrated feed only from the feeding table. The values of six indices, characterizing the comfort of keeping dairy cows on both farms, were within the recommended values, with a slight advantage in farms that feed animals exclusively from the feeding table (except for the feeding index). The best scores for keeping conditions comfortable and hygienic assessment were in the option of feeding concentrated feed from the feeding table and at feeding stations by 0.14 and 0.12 points, respectively.