Dietary supplementation of vitamin D3 and calcium partially recover the compromised time budget and circadian rhythm of lying behavior in lactating cows under heat stress

Abstract

Heat stress impedes cattle behavior and performance and is an animal comfort and welfare issue. The objective of this study was to characterize the time budget and circadian rhythm of lying behavior in dairy cows during heat stress and to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of vitamin D₃ and Ca. Twelve multiparous Holstein cows (42.2 ± 5.6 kg milk/d; 83 ± 27 d in milk) housed in tie-stalls were used in a split-plot design with the concentration of dietary vitamin E and Se as main plots (LESe: 11.1 IU/kg and 0.55 mg/kg, and HESe: 223 IU/kg and 1.8 mg/kg, respectively). Within each plot cows were randomly assigned to: 1) heat stress with low concentrations of vitamin D₃ and Ca (HS, 1012 IU/kg and 0.73%, respectively), 2) heat stress with high concentrations of vitamin D₃ and Ca (HS+D3/Ca; 3,764 IU/kg and 0.97%, respectively), or 3) thermoneutral pair-fed (TNPF) with low concentrations of vitamin D₃ and Ca (1012 IU/kg and 0.73%, respectively) in a Latin Square design with 14-d periods and 7-d washouts. Lying behavior was measured with HOBO® Loggers in 15-min intervals. Overall, cows in HS spent less time lying per day relative to TNPF from d 7 to 14. Daily lying time was positively correlated with milk yield, energy-corrected milk yield, and feed efficiency, and was negatively correlated with rectal temperature, respiratory rate, fecal calprotectin, tumor necrosis factor-α, and C-reactive protein. A treatment by time interaction was observed for lying behavior: the time spent lying was lesser for cows in HS than in TNPF in the early morning (0000 – 0600 h) and in the night (1800 – 2400 h). The circadian rhythm of lying behavior was characterized by fitting a cosine function of time into linear mixed model. Daily rhythmicity of lying was detected for cows in TNPF and HS+D3/Ca, whereas only a tendency in HS cows was observed. Cows in TNPF had the highest mesor (the average level of diurnal fluctuations; 34.2 min/h) and amplitude (the distance between the peak and mesor; 17.9 min/h). Both the mesor and amplitude were higher in HS+D₃/Ca relative to HS (26.6 vs. 25.2 min/h and 3.91 min/h vs. 2.18 min/h, respectively). The acrophase (time of the peak) of lying time in TNPF, HS, and HS+D3/Ca were 0028, 0152, and 0054 h, respectively. Lastly, a continuous increase in daily lying time in TNPF was observed during the first 4 d of the experimental period in which DMI was gradually restricted, suggesting that intake restrictions may shift feeding behavior and introduce biases in the behavior of animals. In conclusion, lying behavior was compromised in dairy cows under heat stress, characterizing reduced daily lying time and disrupted circadian rhythms, and the compromised lying behavior can be partially restored by supplementation of vitamin D3 and Ca. Further research may be required for a more suitable model to study behavior of cows under heat stress.