Abstract
The interest in pasture-based dairy production systems increases because they can be economically attractive and environmentally friendly (Peyraud et al., 2010). However, high yielding dairy cows are not able to cover their nutritional demands just by grazing, and they need additional energy to express their genetic potential for milk production (Kolver and Muller, 1998). So far available data about energy requirements of grazing dairy cows are limited due to the lack of suitable measurement methods. The 13C bicarbonate dilution technique combined with an automatic blood sampling system allows the estimation of energy expenditure (EE) in grazing cows over a 6 h period (Kaufmann et al., 2011). In order to evaluate if EE measured for 6 h can be extrapolated to 24 h an experiment was conducted recording CO2 production, physical activity and feeding behavior during three 6-h periods per d in dairy cows grazed full-time.
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Münger, A., Kaufmann, L.D., Görs, S., Metges, C.C., Dohme-Meier, F. (2013). Estimation of 24-h energy expenditure in dairy cows using the 13C bicarbonate dilution method. In: Oltjen, J.W., Kebreab, E., Lapierre, H. (eds) Energy and protein metabolism and nutrition in sustainable animal production. Energy and protein metabolism and nutrition in sustainable animal production, vol 134. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-781-3_70
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-781-3_70
Publisher Name: Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen
Online ISBN: 978-90-8686-781-3
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