Association between time budget of primiparous cows and their adaptation to an automatic milking system following parturition

The objective of this study was to identify the differences in the transition period time budget of first-lactation cows that adapt quickly to a free-traffic automatic milking system (AMS) versus those that require more chronic fetching during the adaptation period following calving. A total of 22 primiparous Holstein cows were observed from ∼21 d before calving to 23 DIM, following their adaptation to an AMS. During the prepartum period, heifer time budgets were monitored for rumination, feeding activities, lying behavior, and standing behavior. These same behaviors were monitored in the postpartum period, in addition to various milking metrics, standing at the AMS, and quantification of fetching behavior. Using frequency of individual fetching to the AMS, cows were retrospectively designated as either high fetch (HF; n = 11) or low fetch (LF; n = 11). These categorizations were used to assess differences in the time budget between cows that adapted quickly to the AMS and those that required chronic fetching. A tendency was detected for HF cows to have a slower feeding rate in both the pre- and postpartum periods, and fewer feed bin visits postpartum, which was associated with differences observed in feeding time. A tendency was observed across the transition period for HF cows to ruminate for less time than LF cows, despite similar DMI. An interaction between fetch categorization and DIM was present for milkings and visits to the AMS, where on certain days HF cows had fewer milkings and visits than LF cows. High-fetch cows had lesser milk yield. Overall, the results indicate differences in transition period time budget characteristics between cows who adapt quickly to the AMS and those who require chronic fetching during the adaptation period. Specifically, there may be features of a cow's prepartum time budget that relate to their subsequent ease of adaptation to the AMS, and that in the postpartum period both HF and LF cows adapt their time budget to account for added time inputs of fetch pen time and additional visits to the AMS, respectively.