Feeding and Drinking Behaviour of Lactating Dairy Cows Fed on Total Mixed Ration Briquettes

The objective of the study was to examine the feeding and drinking behaviour of lactating dairy cows when they were introduced to the Total Mixed Ration (TMR) briquettes. Nine, Jersey x Sahiwal crossbred cows with an average live weight of 275±33 kg in the second week of lactation were randomly assigned to three treatments in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with a 14-day adaptation period and 14-d preliminary period. The behaviour observation was conducted during the 7 days of the collection period. The treatments were CTL: guinea grass with commercial feed and two TMR recipe briquettes selected from a previous trial TMR1 and TMR2. The behaviour of the cows was recorded for 2 hrs after offering the feed at 8.00 a.m. and analysed using Behavioural Observation Research Interactive Software. The feeding behaviour did not show any significant difference (p≥ 0·05) among the treatments. The total number of occurrences of feeding behaviour recorded for CTL, TMR1 and TMR2 were 18.87±8.51, 22.67±8.51 and 42.60±8.51, respectively while the percentage total length of 2 h feeding was 65.97±4.33, 59.00±4.33 and 61.22±4.33%, respectively. There was no significant difference (p≥ 0·05) in drinking behaviour among the treatments except for total number of occurrences. Total drinking duration was 30.64±55.98, 64.73±55.98 and 206.26±55.98 seconds for CTL, TMR1 and TMR2, respectively. The study revealed that the feeding of chopped forage with concentrate or total mixed ration briquettes does not affect feeding behaviour of lactating dairy cows but may influence their drinking behaviour.