Feeding behaviour of Merino wethers under conditions similar to lot-feeding before live export

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 343 ◽  
Author(s):  
CL McDonald ◽  
RT Norris ◽  
EJ Speijers ◽  
H Ridings
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Reliable Indicator ◽  
Central Location ◽  
Feeding Experiments ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Diet Type ◽  
Live Export ◽  
As If

Sheep from different farms (lines) in Western Australia were mixed in 3 experiments and lot-fed for 6-7 days as if for export. A marking method to identify sheep which eat from troughs was tested and used to examine the effects of feeding treatments on the proportion of sheep which eat during lot-feeding. Paint soaked sponges attached to troughs were used to monitor whether sheep ate. Positive linear relationships between liveweight change and paint marking score (R = 0.93, 0.93 and 0.94, in the 3 experiments) suggested that the technique was a reliable indicator of feed intake. Feeding treatments imposed were period of fasting before lot feeding (experiments 2 and 3); and diet type (hay pellets, hay/pellet mix) and trough location in the feedlot (experiment 3). There were large differences between lines in the percentage of sheep not marked. Values � s.e. ranged from 1 � 1 to 79 � 3% for the 8 lines used in 3 experiments. In experiment 2, fasting for 48 h before lot-feeding resulted in more sheep (P<0.05) not marked (18 � 7 3%) than did fasting for <12 h (9 � 3%) and <24 h (8 � 2%). In experiment 3, fasting for 96 h compared with 48 h resulted in fewer sheep marked daily when fed a hay-pellet mixture (75 � 2 v. 93 � 1%; P<0.001). When fed only pellets in experiment 3, the percentages of marked sheep increased with time (days). Feeding pellets only compared with a hay-pellet mixture resulted in fewer sheep marked daily (60 � 2 v. 79 � 2%; P<0.001) and more sheep not marked (11 � 3 v. 3 � 2%; P<0.05). If troughs were located in the centre of yards instead of on the fenceline, it took 2 rather than 7 days for the daily percentage of animals marked on the pellets only diet to exceed 80%. The central location also resulted in a mean of 78 � 2% of sheep marked daily compared with 67 � 2% for fenceline troughs (P<0.001) and a mean intake higher (P<0.01) by 0.13 � 0.04 kg/wether.day. It was concluded that line of sheep, fasting, diet and trough location all had significant effects on feeding behaviour during lot feeding. Of these treatments, the greatest variation in feeding behaviour was associated with the line of sheep.

Feeds and feeding methods for assembly of sheep before export

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 589 ◽  
Author(s):  
CL McDonald ◽  
JB Rowe ◽  
SP Gittins
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Digestible Energy ◽  
Feeding Methods ◽  
Marking Technique ◽  
Pelleted Diet ◽  
Dietary Treatments ◽  
Board Ship

Sheep are assembled in Australian feedlots before export and given time to adapt to the pelleted diet they will receive on board ship. In Western Australia, lupins are normally included in the diet at levels up to 30% as a source of digestible energy which is low in starch. It is also common to feed hay during assembly. We examine the use of pellets based on barley and containing either lupins or virginiamycin to overcome problems of acidosis, and the importance of hay during assembly. There were 9 dietary treatments each with 3 pens of 30 sheep. The study was conducted over 8 days simulating assembly feedlot conditions. Measurements were made of numbers of sheep visiting troughs (paint-marking technique) and accumulation of lactic acid in the rumen. 'Barley' pellets were formulated with 33% barley, 18% oats, 47% hay/straw and 2% minerals and vitamins. Replacing about half of the barley with lupins resulted in more sheep paint-marked on days 3-6 (P<0.05) and higher levels of feed intake on days 4-8 (P<0.001) than feeding pellets without lupins. The inclusion of lupins was also associated with a less pronounced drop in feed intake on day 4 than measured in sheep fed barley pellets alone. Adding virginiamycin at 40 g/t to the basal barley-based pellet also significantly increased the numbers of sheep paintmarked. Virginiamycin appeared to have a similar effect to the inclusion of lupins in terms of reducing the number of sheep which were not paint-marked. Sprinkling a small quantity of lucerne chaff onto the pellets had no effect on feeding behaviour. The use of hay in racks resulted in fewer sheep (3 v. 12%, P<0.05) not eating during the first 3 days but there was no significant effect thereafter. We concluded that the inclusion of either lupins or virginiamycin is effective in improving the adaptation to cereal-based pellets in export feedlots. The use of hay either in racks or sprinkled over the pellets appears to be of limited value.

Use of monensin to restrict feed intake in sheep destined for live export

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 647
Author(s):  
RT Norris ◽  
CL McDonald ◽  
JB Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Feed Intake ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Relationship Maintenance ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Daily Intakes ◽  
Live Export

The accuracy with which monensin could control feed intake was studied in 200 3-4-year-old Merino wethers by measuring their intake of pelleted diets containing 5 levels of monensin: 0, 33, 66, 132 or 264 mg/kg of feed. The feed was offered ad libitum for 25 days except for the highest level of monensin where treatment was ended after 12 days.Mean daily intakes (g/sheep) of diets containing monensin at 0, 33, 66, 132 or 264 mg/kg feed were 1304, 959, 793, 403 and 137 respectively. Mean daily feed intake (Y, g) was negatively and linearly related to concentration of monensin (X, mg/kg feed) Y = 1244 - 6.57X (r2=0.98; P<0.05) Similarly there was a close negative relationship between the concentration of monensin (X, mg/kg feed) and daily liveweight change (Z, g/sheep) during the trial Z = 217 - 2.61X (r2=0.99; P< 0.01) From this relationship, maintenance of liveweight would have been achieved with a diet containing monensin at about 80 mg/kg feed. Signs of toxicity including deaths occurred in sheep receiving diets containing monensin at 66, 132 and 264 mg/kg feed. It was concluded that monensin could be used to restrict feed intake but further research is necessary to determine safe levels.

scholarly journals Association of Feed Efficiency, Feeding Rate, and Behaviour with the Milk Performance of Dairy Cows

Dairy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 684-694
Author(s):  
Lenka Krpálková ◽  
Niall O’Mahony ◽  
Anderson Carvalho ◽  
Sean Campbell ◽  
Gerard Corkery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Feeding Time ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Milk Performance

Identification of the associations of cow feed efficiency with feeding behaviour and milk production is important for supporting recommendations of strategies that optimise milk yield. The objective of this study was to identify associations between measures of feed efficiency, feed intake, feeding rate, rumination time, feeding time, and milk production using data collected from 26 dairy cows during a 3 month period in 2018. Cows averaged (mean ± standard deviation) 2.2 ± 1.7 lactations, 128 ± 40 days in milk, 27.5 ± 5.5 kg/day milk, 1.95 ± 0.69 kg feed/1 kg milk—the measure used to express feed conversion ratio (FCR), 575 ± 72 min/day rumination time, and 264 ± 67 min/day feeding time during the observation period. The coefficient of variation for rumination time (min/d) was 12.5%. A mixed linear model was selected for analyses. The most feed inefficient cows with the highest FCR (≥2.6 kg feed/1 kg milk) showed the lowest milk yield (24.8 kg/day), highest feed intake (78.8 kg), highest feeding rate (0.26 kg/min) and BCS (3.35 point). However, the relative milk yield (milk yield per 100 kg of body weight) was the highest (4.01 kg/day) in the most efficient group with the lowest FCR (≤1.4 kg feed/1 kg milk). Our study showed that the most efficient cows with the lowest FCR (≤1.4 kg feed/1 kg milk) had the highest rumination time (597 min/day; p < 0.05), feeding time (298 min/day; p < 0.05), rumination/activity ratio (4.39; p < 0.05) and rumination/feeding ratio (2.04; p < 0.05). Less active cows (activity time 164 min/day; p < 0.05) were the most efficient cows with the lowest FCR (≤1.4 kg feed/1 kg milk). The behavioural differences observed in this study provide new insight into the association of feed behaviour and feed efficiency with milk performance. Incorporating feeding behaviour into the dry matter intake model can improve its accuracy in the future and benefit breeding programmes.

scholarly journals Effect of tannins and monensin on feeding behaviour, feed intake, digestive parameters and microbial efficiency of nellore cows

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 262-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramos Jorge Tseu ◽  
Flavio Perna Junior ◽  
Roberta Ferreira Carvalho ◽  
Guilherme Acácio Sene ◽  
Cristiane Barbosa Tropaldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Microbial Efficiency

Effect of different creep feeding treatments and group composition on the initiation of piglet feeding behaviour immediately post-weaning

2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 80-80
Author(s):  
F. H. Reynolds ◽  
H. M. Miller ◽  
J. M. Forbes
Keyword(s):  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Maximum Rate ◽  
Learning Effect ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Learning Behaviour ◽  
Recording Equipment ◽  
Creep Feeding ◽  
Creep Feed ◽  
Sufficient Food

The post-weaning growth check of the piglet can be attributed to the inability of the animal to eat sufficient food in the initial post weaning period and hence grow at a maximum rate (Pluske et al., 1996). It is essential therefore to identify determinants of individual feed intake characteristics post weaning to improve piglet performance. A palatable creep-diet is often fed to piglets pre-weaning to increase performance and to allow piglets to become familiarised with solid feed sourced from a feeder. Bruininx (2002) et al., demonstrated using single spaced Feed Intake Recording Equipment (FIRE), that creep feed stimulates post-weaning feed intake and gain. In addition, Morgan et al. (2001) investigated feeding behaviour of piglets paired from creep or no creep backgrounds and concluded a learning effect which increased the feeding behaviour of the naïve piglet. The purpose of this experiment, therefore, was to investigate the effect of offering selected litters either creep feed or zero creep (naïve) pre-weaning on their latency to initiate feeding post weaning. It was hypothesised that learning behaviour between piglets may influence feeding initiation and so this experiment would also look at the effect of mixing piglets from the two lactation backgrounds.

Spectral analysis of feeding patterns of steers divergent in residual feed intake

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Dobos ◽  
Robert Herd
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Residual Feed Intake ◽  
Selection Line ◽  
Feeding Patterns ◽  
Time Spent Feeding ◽  
Efficient Selection

Spectral analysis was used to quantify differences in feeding patterns of Angus steers genetically divergent in residual feed intake (RFI). Forty-two low RFI (more efficient) and 28 high RFI (less efficient) selection line steers were fed a feedlot diet through electronic feeders for 72 days. Mean (±s.e.) daily feed intake was 11.9 ± 0.076 and 12.7 ± 0.095 kg dry matter/day over the 72-day feeding period for low and high RFI steers, respectively. The high RFI steers exhibited different temporal cycles to the low RFI steers in daily feed intake and time spent feeding. However, patterns of number of eating sessions, feeding rate, the time spent eating and the number of eating sessions were similar. Further analysis of daily (24 h) feeding behaviour is required to help improve our understanding of the association between feeding behaviour and feed efficiency.

Electrolyte supplementation of live export cattle to the Middle East

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Beatty ◽  
A. Barnes ◽  
R. Taplin ◽  
M. McCarthy ◽  
S. K. Maloney
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Stocking Density ◽  
High Heat ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Acid Base Balance ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Urine Ph ◽  
Live Export

Eighty Bos taurus crossbred steers sourced from southern Western Australia were monitored to assess the efficacy of electrolyte supplementation on board a livestock vessel travelling to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer. Electrolytes (1.8 g/L NaHCO3 and 3.5 g/L KCl) were added to the drinking water of treatment steers (n = 39) allocated to three pens on the starboard side of the ship. Control steers (n = 40) were allocated to three pens on the port side of the ship. The combined area of the three treatment and three control pens was 61.1 and 63.6 m2 respectively, giving a stocking density of 1.57 and 1.55 m2 per steer, respectively. Steers were loaded in Fremantle, Western Australia and given 3 days to acclimatise to on-board conditions before being weighed (day 1), after which electrolyte supplementation began while the vessel docked at Port Headland, Western Australia. Feed and water were available ad libitum throughout the experiment. Steers were weighed again on day 18, before discharge in the Middle East. During electrolyte supplementation, wet bulb temperature ranged from 21.3 (day 2) to 31.8°C (day 18). Over the last 3 days of the experiment, wet bulb temperature ranged from 29.0 to 31.8°C with no diurnal variation or night-time cooling. No open-mouth panting was recorded in either group and although animals encountered periods of high heat and humidity (as indicated by increased respiratory rates), the steers were not considered clinically heat stressed during the experiment. After 18 days of electrolyte supplementation, treatment steers had a 2.9 ± 1.7% liveweight advantage compared with control steers (P < 0.001). Urine was collected on days 8 and 16 of the experiment and treatment steers maintained a higher urine pH compared with control steers on both days (day 8; 8.6 v. 8.2 and day 16; 8.2 v. 7.9; P < 0.01). Liveweight advantages and improved regulation of acid–base balance may provide welfare and economic benefits to the live export industry.

Farming as if we belong

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. C. Lefroy
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
World View ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Systems ◽  
Agricultural Settlement ◽  
As If

Two fundamental changes in attitude are required before efforts to develop sustainable agricultural systems will be successful. Firstly, the deeply held and often unexamined views we have of our relationship with the natural world, particularly the view of nature as a commodity, must be challenged. Secondly, we must question our continuing faith in a knowledge-based world view as the best way to solve problems that are a consequence of that view. The history of agricultural settlement in Western Australia is an example of the view of nature as a commodity that led to failed agricultural schemes at great social and environmental costs.

scholarly journals Effect of different phosphorus levels on the performance and egg quality of laying hens fed wheat- and maize-based diets

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 420-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Skřivan ◽  
M. Englmaierová ◽  
V. Skřivanová
Keyword(s):  
Feed Intake ◽  
Shell Thickness ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Available Phosphorus ◽  
Egg Weight ◽  
Diet Type ◽  
Phosphorus Levels

The effects of diet type (wheat- or maize-based) and concentration of available phosphorus (AP; about 4, 3 and 2 g/kg) on the parameters of hen performance and egg quality as well as shell calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) contents were examined. Two experiments were carried out in which 240 and 120, respectively, older ISA Brown hens were housed in enriched cages. The interaction of diet type and AP concentration was ascertained for all evaluated characteristics except the amount of Ca and P deposited in shells in the first experiment. In the second experiment, the interaction of diet type and AP concentration was found for feed intake, egg weight, shell thickness and weight as well as the albumen quality parameters. Furthermore, Ca deposition in shells increased (P &lt; 0.001) with the wheat diet. Hens fed a maize-based diet (P &lt; 0.001) laid heavier eggs. The highest level of AP (4.1 g/kg) in the wheat-based diet significantly (P &lt; 0.001) decreased albumen height, albumen index and Haugh units (HU). These trends were the same in both experiments. The results indicate that 0.27% AP in wheat-based diet and 0.30% AP in maize-based diet are adequate for hens with the intake 115 g of feed with 3.5% of Ca without a negative impact on performance or egg quality.

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