EFFECTS OF ROBOTIC FEEDING ON MILKING MANAGEMENT AND HERD PERFORMANCE IN AUTOMATIC MILKING SYSTEMS FOR DAIRY CATTLE
ANADOLU 19th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON APPLIED SCIENCES, Mardin, Türkiye, 14 - 16 Ağustos 2026, ss.269-270, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Mardin
- Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.269-270
- Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Automatic milking systems
and/or milking robots are becoming increasingly widespread in dairy farming as
tools that minimize labor requirements and increase milk yield. In farms
equipped with milking robots, cows voluntarily participate in milking, with the
intake of feed during milking serving as the strongest incentive. During
milking, cows are typically offered palatable concentrates, and sometimes
mixtures of forages and concentrates, by the robot. This robotic feeding
influences the frequency with which animals visit the milking robot and their
motivation to do so. Feed intake during milking, which the animals perceive as
a positive experience, involves composition and quantity that must be carefully
adjusted to ensure the system and production remain sustainable and manageable.
Key considerations regarding robotic feeding in automatic milking systems
include the effects of the amount and frequency of feed provided by the robot
on milking frequency and animal traffic, feed palatability and form, the
balance between robot-dispensed feed and the forage-concentrate mixtures
provided in the animals' living areas to meet total daily nutrient
requirements; the risks to rumen health associated with excessive feed intake
during milking, and lactation-specific feeding programs and individual feeding
systems. In conclusion, while automatic milking systems, which represent a
revolution in dairy farming by reducing labor and improving or maintaining milk
yield, facilitate the management of daily milking frequency, the regulation of
milking intervals, and production practices aligned with animal welfare,
excessive intake of "robotic feed" can disrupt rumen health and
nutritional balance by negatively affecting the intake of feed mixtures
formulated to meet the animals' specific needs. Therefore, there is a need for
comprehensive research on dairy cows milked via automatic systems that monitor
the intake of carefully prepared diets designed to meet daily nutrient
requirements, accounts for lactation stages and yield levels, and examines the
effects of robotic feeding on both animal health and milking management.