Effects of a maternal bovine appeasing substance at dry-off on dairy cow behavior following dry-off

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective The primary objective was to determine whether administration of maternal bovine appeasing substance (MBAS) at abrupt dry-off influenced rumina-tion time. The secondary objectives were to evaluate its effects on eating time and activity during the first 14 d after dry-off. Materials and Methods Enrollment of 203 Holstein cows (primiparous and multiparous) from a commercial dairy in Minnesota occurred between July and November 2024. Cows were assigned at dry-off to either a control group (CON; n = 100) or a MBAS-treated group (TRT; n = 103), with enrollment conducted in contemporaneous TRT and CON clusters across 6 enrollment events (12 clusters total). Cows in the TRT group received a single topical application of 15 mL of MBAS at dry-off, whereas CON cows received no treatment. To minimize cross-con-tamination, CON and TRT cows were housed separately while the MBAS active ingredient was present. Rumina-tion, eating, and activity—representing the magnitude and frequency of cow movement relative to individual baseline behavior—were monitored using neck-mounted sensors, and data were analyzed using linear mixed models. Results and Discussion Rumination was greater in TRT at 429 min/d compared with CON cows at 402 min/d (+27 min/d; 95% CI: 7.9, 45.5). Eating was also greater for TRT at 304 min/d compared with CON cows at 285 min/d (+19 min/d; 95% CI: 5.4, 31.3) during the first 14 d after dry-off, with the largest differences ob-served between 3 and 6 d after dry-off. No differences were detected in activity during the same period. Implications and Applications These results sug-gest that MBAS administration at dry-off promoted a more pronounced increase in rumination and eating dur-ing the early dry period compared with no administration of MBAS. This demonstrates that although both groups began adapting to the dry period, MBAS further support-ed the expression of these behaviors, offering a practical strategy to reduce the disruption of important behaviors such as ruminating and eating during the transition from lactation.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Applied Animal Science, 2026 · DOI ↗