Short communication: Rumination and feeding behavior before and after calving in dairy cows

The objectives of the current study were to describe changes in rumination and feeding behavior around calving. Rumination time, feeding time, and dry matter intake were monitored in 11 freestall-housed cows from 96 h before to 48 h after calving. Data were summarized in 2-h and 24-h periods, adjusting for calving time. Differences between baseline (96 to 24h before calving) and subsequent 24-h periods were evaluated. Compared with baseline, cows spent, on average, 63 ± 30 min/24h less time ruminating and 66 ± 16 min/24h less time feeding in the 24-h period before calving. These behaviors continued to decline during the 24-h period after calving when, compared with baseline, time spent ruminating decreased on average by 133 ± 35 min/24h and time spent feeding decreased by 82 ± 18 min/24h. Dry matter intake tended to decrease by 3.8 ± 1.9 kg in the 24-h period before calving but returned to baseline values in the 24-h following calving. Rumination time and time spent feeding started to decline approximately 4 and 8h before calving, respectively, and increased in the 4 to 6h following calving. Rumination time and time spent feeding show promise as tools to identify cows close to calving.