Effect of Drinking-Water Temperature upon Ruminant Digestion, Intraruminal Temperature, and Water Consumption of Nonlactating Dairy Cows

Abstract

Two digestion trials of Latin-square design were conducted with four fistulated, nonlactating Holstein cows to determine the influence of 34, 57, 80, and 103 F water at average environmental temperatures of 53 F ± 9.92 (Trial I) and 27 F ± 12.20 (Trial II). Animals were fed bromegrass-alfalfa hay twice daily and received water 2 hr after feeding. Rumen and rectal temperatures were measured with thermocouples. Ruminal temperature depression depended upon amount and temperature of ingested water. An average of 16 recordings indicated that 46.4 ± 8.6 lb of ingested 34 F water depressed the lower, middle, and upper rumen temperature by 23.1 ± 9.5, 10.3 ± 5.4, and 2.3 ± 1.6 F, respectively, within 10 min, while the rectal temperature was depressed 0.50 F within 20 min during Trial II. When water consumption data from both trials were combined, a significant treatment effect was observed (p ≤ 0.05). No significant differences were found between the coefficients of digestible dry matter (DDM), digestible energy (DE), digestible crude protein (DCP), or small-sample in vivo digestion values during Trials I or II (p ≤ 0.05). © 1964, American Dairy Science Association. All rights reserved.