Change in the rate of eating during a meal and the effect of the interval between meals on the rate at which cows eat roughages

Abstract

SUMMARY1. The rates of eating silages and hay throughout a meal were recorded in eight cows consecutively using a special manger and an automatic recording apparatus. At each meal the rate of eating was highest in the first five or ten minutes and then fell gradually. These characteristics were observed both on silages and on hay and for all the experimental cows. The mean rates of eating hay, but not of silages, agreed with previous reports.2. The highest rate of eating was slightly faster at the evening meal than at the morning meal, when cows received equal amounts of feeds twice each day. The rate of eating declined at much the same rate throughout each meal when the cows received from 2 to 5 meals daily.3. When the cows were fed twice daily, the rate of eating throughout a meal was not affected by changing the interval between meals from 12 hr to 6 hr.4. When cows were given large amounts of feed at any one time, three stages of rate of eating, fast, decreasing and slow, were recognized.5. The quality of feed, individuality of cow and pregnancy evidently affected the rate of eating throughout a meal.