ABSTRACT
How much space should be provided to transition cows housed in barns and paddocks? For perspective, Kondo et al. (1989) found that cows would space themselves 10-12 m apart during grazing when provided with more than 360 m2 per animal. This suggests that spacing preferences will never be met in confinement buildings. Because of competition and animal movement along a feeding surface, quantification of actual DMI for research purposes is essentially impossible in ‘normal’ or commercial-style feed delivery systems. Huzzey et al. (2006) reported increased displacements, increased standing time in the feeding area and reduced feeding time with increasing stocking density, and they indicated that subordinate animals experienced more displacements than higher rank lactating cows. Using Insentec feed bins, Proudfoot et al. (2009) found that increased competition among prepartum cows resulted in more feeding displacements, but no difference in either prepartum DMI or postpartum milk yield. Using a conventional feed alley and rail, DeVries et al. (2004) reported significantly reduced displacements and increased feeding time when lactating cows were provided 1 m of space compared to 0.5 m. However, studies linking feedbunk competition to fresh cow disease have not been found – perhaps because of the need for large numbers to detect statistical differences.
