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Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems

Social hierarchy affects the access of animals to feed resources. On daily rotational pasture systems, supplementation time may influence feeding behavior. This trial was designed to test the effect of grain delivery time on the feeding behavior of heifers. Heifers divided into two groups according...

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Autores principales: Bica, Gabriela Schenato, Pinheiro Machado Filho, Luiz Carlos, Teixeira, Dayane Lemos, de Sousa, Karolini Tenffen, Hötzel, Maria José
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068843/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32211424
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00061
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author Bica, Gabriela Schenato
Pinheiro Machado Filho, Luiz Carlos
Teixeira, Dayane Lemos
de Sousa, Karolini Tenffen
Hötzel, Maria José
author_facet Bica, Gabriela Schenato
Pinheiro Machado Filho, Luiz Carlos
Teixeira, Dayane Lemos
de Sousa, Karolini Tenffen
Hötzel, Maria José
author_sort Bica, Gabriela Schenato
collection PubMed
description Social hierarchy affects the access of animals to feed resources. On daily rotational pasture systems, supplementation time may influence feeding behavior. This trial was designed to test the effect of grain delivery time on the feeding behavior of heifers. Heifers divided into two groups according to breed (n = 15 Braford and n = 19 Jersey) were tested in a crossover design with two treatments: INITIAL—supplement at 8 am (entry time to a fresh paddock), and MIDDLE—supplement at 4 pm (middle time of paddock use). Animals entered a new paddock every morning, and grain supplement at 2 kg/animal/day was offered at the fence line (1 m/animal). Then, ingestive and other behaviors were registered by direct visual observation through scan sampling at 2-min intervals for 1 h after grain supply. Agonistic interactions were recorded continuously (instigator–victim) to build a social matrix whereby each heifer was defined as dominant, intermediate, or subordinate. Weekly pasture samples were collected according to the order that animals left the feeding area, using the hand-plucking technique, to determine crude protein and fiber content. Heifers spent more time grazing on the INITIAL treatment (p < 0.0001) but exhibited more behaviors on the MIDDLE treatment (p < 0.0001). Dominant heifers spent more time eating grain (p = 0.0008), whereas subordinate heifers spent more time grazing along the paddock (p = 0.0067), but not along the fence (p = 0.0008). The crude protein content of pasture samples was higher for the INITIAL treatment (p < 0.0001). Behavioral interaction occurred with respect to the order of leaving the feeding area, social rank, and crude protein consumed (p = 0.04). Subordinate heifers consistently grazed more and ate less grain supplement than dominant and intermediate heifers. However, when grain supplement was offered at the time animals entered the paddock, more grazing activity took place during supplement feeding, and subordinate heifers could select a high-protein diet. In the INITIAL treatment, this means that subordinate animals could benefit from the better pasture available, keeping a distance from dominant heifers, reducing agonistic interactions and likely improving their welfare.
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spelling pubmed-70688432020-03-24 Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems Bica, Gabriela Schenato Pinheiro Machado Filho, Luiz Carlos Teixeira, Dayane Lemos de Sousa, Karolini Tenffen Hötzel, Maria José Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science Social hierarchy affects the access of animals to feed resources. On daily rotational pasture systems, supplementation time may influence feeding behavior. This trial was designed to test the effect of grain delivery time on the feeding behavior of heifers. Heifers divided into two groups according to breed (n = 15 Braford and n = 19 Jersey) were tested in a crossover design with two treatments: INITIAL—supplement at 8 am (entry time to a fresh paddock), and MIDDLE—supplement at 4 pm (middle time of paddock use). Animals entered a new paddock every morning, and grain supplement at 2 kg/animal/day was offered at the fence line (1 m/animal). Then, ingestive and other behaviors were registered by direct visual observation through scan sampling at 2-min intervals for 1 h after grain supply. Agonistic interactions were recorded continuously (instigator–victim) to build a social matrix whereby each heifer was defined as dominant, intermediate, or subordinate. Weekly pasture samples were collected according to the order that animals left the feeding area, using the hand-plucking technique, to determine crude protein and fiber content. Heifers spent more time grazing on the INITIAL treatment (p < 0.0001) but exhibited more behaviors on the MIDDLE treatment (p < 0.0001). Dominant heifers spent more time eating grain (p = 0.0008), whereas subordinate heifers spent more time grazing along the paddock (p = 0.0067), but not along the fence (p = 0.0008). The crude protein content of pasture samples was higher for the INITIAL treatment (p < 0.0001). Behavioral interaction occurred with respect to the order of leaving the feeding area, social rank, and crude protein consumed (p = 0.04). Subordinate heifers consistently grazed more and ate less grain supplement than dominant and intermediate heifers. However, when grain supplement was offered at the time animals entered the paddock, more grazing activity took place during supplement feeding, and subordinate heifers could select a high-protein diet. In the INITIAL treatment, this means that subordinate animals could benefit from the better pasture available, keeping a distance from dominant heifers, reducing agonistic interactions and likely improving their welfare. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-03-06 /pmc/articles/PMC7068843/ /pubmed/32211424 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00061 Text en Copyright © 2020 Bica, Pinheiro Machado Filho, Teixeira, de Sousa and Hötzel. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Bica, Gabriela Schenato
Pinheiro Machado Filho, Luiz Carlos
Teixeira, Dayane Lemos
de Sousa, Karolini Tenffen
Hötzel, Maria José
Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems
title Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems
title_full Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems
title_fullStr Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems
title_full_unstemmed Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems
title_short Time of Grain Supplementation and Social Dominance Modify Feeding Behavior of Heifers in Rotational Grazing Systems
title_sort time of grain supplementation and social dominance modify feeding behavior of heifers in rotational grazing systems
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068843/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32211424
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00061
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