The change of the form of residual ration on trough in five loose housings

Abstract

In loose housing, a cow's eating must be guaranteed at all times. The ration’s form was changed in accordance with the cows’ eating and due to human’s pushing up operation. In this experiment, three indices of the ration’s form (LER: the length from the trough wall to the edge of ration, LTR: the length from the trough wall to the top of ration, and HTR: the height of the top of ration) were measured in five loose housings to represent different ration forms. The form of the ration just after feeding was changed by the cows’ eating from a mono-peak type to a twin-peak type. The LER in every free-stall barns increased with the cows’ eating behavior, and decreased with pushing up. The LTR was changed variously (increased and decreased) in each barn with the cow’s eating and with the pushing up operations.