Replication Data for: Overstocking and temporal feed restriction affects dairy cows’ drinking behavior

Social competition can lead to changes in drinking behavior. We studied how the combination of stocking at the drinker (6 or 12 cows per drinker) and temporal feed restriction (14 or 24 h access) impacts drinking in 4 groups of 6 cows each, following a Latin Square design.

We recorded drinking behavior and agonistic interactions (i.e., replacements) at the drinker; within each group of 6 focal cows, 2 were identified as most dominant, 2 as most subordinate, and the 2 others as intermediate, based on success when engaged in agonistic interactions at the feeder. Intermediate and subordinate cows drank less water when feed access was restricted (7.9 L/d less ± 5.2). Subordinate cows also spent less time drinking when overstocked (12.5 min/d less ± 6.4).