Rumination Time in Four Breeds of Dairy Cattle

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Abstract
Initial research showed significant dif- ferences between individual cattle in their rumination response to equal amounts of cell wall constituent intake. Two further experiments were conducted to determine if dairy cattle breeds differ in their rumina- tion time. In Experiment 2, eight Guern- seys had lower (P < .05) 24-hour rumina- tion times than did eight Holsteins, eight Ayrshires, and eight Jerseys. When cor- rected for cell wall constituent intake and body weight kilogram .7~ the Guernsey aver- age rumination time was lower than the Holstein average (P < .05) and the Jersey average (P < .01). In a third experiment eight lactating Guernseys averaged lower (P < .05) total rumination times, as well as minutes rumination corrected for cell wall constituent intake and body weight kilo- gram .7'~, than did eight lactating Jerseys.