Social Rank, Feeding Behavior, and Free Stall Utilization by Dairy Cattle

Abstract

Behavior of 21 Holstein cows was studied in feeding and free stall areas by time-lapse photography. Photographic surveillance permitted quantitation of feeding and resting behavior. From 3,365 photographs taken at 2 min intervals during 5 days, cows preferred specific stalls. Dominant ranking cows preferred to succeed each other (correlation .53) and occupy adjacent stalls (correlation = .42). Location of stalls most fiequent]y used by each cow in 2 rows of 10 was a quadratic function of social rank. Squared multiple correlations indicated dominant cows occupied stalls near the entrance in one row (.67) and near the middle in the other (.59). Mean time spent in free stalls was 11.1 h per day. Photographs (5,190 at 1 min intervals) during 5 separate days, of the 10.4 m feed trough showed dominant cows eating when hay, fresh silage, and supplemental concentrate were fed (correlations = .40, .55, and .57). Mean time eating ranged from 2.9 to 4.7 h per day and was quadratic with social rank (squared multiple correlation = .33). Mid-ranked cows spent the Ieast time eating. Time-lapse photography with computerized summarization showed promise as an effective tool for studying cow behavior.