Ingestive behavior and nutrient digestibility in cows fed different levels of concentrate

The influence of concentrate levels in rations on ingestion behavior, nutrient intake, and digestibility was determined in cattle. Four 442.15kg BW crossbred cows were distributed in a 4x4 Latin square, into four periods of 14 days, 11 days for adaptation and three days for sample collections per animal and per period. Behavior was determined by observing each animal every 15 minutes for 24 hours, recording feeding, rumination, idling, and water uptake time. The roughage was whole-plant corn silage and the concentrate was composed of corn, sorghum, soybean meal and hulls, minerals, urea, and protected fat, in rations with 13% crude protein. The concentrate levels were 30, 40, 50, and 60% in dry matter. Intake and rumination activities decreased linearly with the concentrate level, and consequently, there was increasing idling time. A linear effect was observed for concentrate levels on intake and rumination efficiencies, as well as for intake of the dietary nutrients, but not for neutral detergent fiber intake. Increases in the concentrate level decreased feeding and rumination times, but did not alter nutrient digestibility in the diet.