Effects of protective gates at concentrate feed stations on behaviour and production in dairy cows: A brief note

Concentrate feed stations for dairy cows improve feeding management allowing frequent individual feeding. Concentrates are highly valued by cows and then a cause for competition and aggression. The production and cow welfare may be compromised because of frequent displacements of cows visiting the feed station. A comparison was made between two concentrate feeding stations with two groups of 20 cows each in a change-over experiment lasting for 18 weeks. One feeding stations was equipped with protective gates, which closed while the cow in the feeding station was fed concentrates which eliminated displacement of this cow. No difference in milk production was obtained. The number of visits to the feeding station with protective gates was fewer than to the control (12.7 versus 15.9 P < 0.001) as was the number of unrewarded visits (without feed supply) (3.7 versus 5.3; P < 0.01). The number of aggressions directed towards cows in the concentrate feeding station was reduced by 65% in the feed station with protective gates as was the number of displacements of cows from the concentrate feeding station by 67%. It was concluded that the protective gates reduced competition and made concentrate feeding more efficient. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.