When the cows are full, they will want to lie down, for a longer period of time. Our goal is to give the cow the best conditions to maintain their high yield, which is expected of them. This includes an average lying time of 12‐14 hours. Which is better provided if the cows gets full faster.
The increased feed intake is also contributing to an increased milk yield. We know from the more conventional feeding fences, that cows can get injuries from the inventory when they are pressing or leaning against it. With FGF these pressure marks, from e.g. the neck rail, will not be found. And the flexibility of the fence will make sure that there will be no pressure marks on the front part of the cow either.
The sectionalized fence is making sure that, one cow can't keep an entire section of the fence for herself. FGF is making sure that the weaker cow should be able to eat, with a smaller change of being chased off. This will make the feeding period calmer.
A small organic farm in Denmark had the feeding fence installed in February 2013. A week after the fence was installed; they experienced a drop in urea, in the milk. They think the explanation is found with regards to the fence. The cows are eating more now, because they can reach more feed, which meant that they had to give more grain to their feeding‐mixture, because of the need for more energy in the feed.
(All of the following diagrams are kindly, given to us by the owners. It has been drawn from their Lely milkingrobot. They are all from approximately from a month after the installation of Flexible Green Feeding. Installation of FGF will be marked with a red line.)
The owners discovered that the weaker cows were doing much better. They had a cow that had been hoof‐trimmed in the wrong manner. They just wanted the cow to make it through the lactation and then it would be put down.
As the graph shows, the milk yield had been falling, and then it started leveling out, so that the cow got a linear milk‐yield, in spite of a sore hoof.
As said before FGF can help maintain a calmer feeding period, so all of the cows are able to eat without any disturbance. The cow shown on this Graph is very fearsome, and after the insertion of FGF, the variation in the milk yield was leveled out. The cow has a more constant milk‐yield now .
They gave an example of a cow at the end of its lactation, stabilizing its milk yield in spite of the start of the dry‐period. 5 Cow in end of lactation They also had an older cow, which was going to be put down, after the lactation. The milk‐yield has been stabilized here as well.6 Old cow Their overall opinion on the Flexible Green Feeding, is that it works as intended. All of the cows, who were marked by the neck rail are recovering.
There has not been any transition period. The cows got the new fence, in the middle of the day, and by the next feeding they all used the fence, as if there had never been anything else in the barn. In the beginning they felt the feeding period a lot calmer than it used to be. But it has been leveling out.
They got a lot of strong heifers, and after calving they very quickly reach a high level in milk yield. They also think that their total milk production is on the rise. And all they changed in the barn was the feeding fence.
This picture shows how far a cow is able to reach with Flexible Green Feeding. There is no discomfort for the cow, when pressing against the fence. It also shows the sectionalized function in use. The one cow stretching to reach feed is not preventing the other cows for just standing, or eating closer to the backend of the feeding table.
The cow in the ring, shows one of the characteristics in this feeding fence. When it has enough feed in its mouth, it is able to lift the head and chew. This will help the cow swallow better, than with e.g. a neck rail.
cow-welfare.com
