scholarly journals Assessing dairy cow welfare during the grazing and housing periods on spring-calving, pasture-based dairy farms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin E Crossley ◽  
Eddie A M Bokkers ◽  
Natasha Browne ◽  
Katie Sugrue ◽  
Emer Kennedy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Nasal Discharge ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Welfare Indicators ◽  
Signed Rank ◽  
Cow Welfare ◽  
Head Neck ◽  
Ocular Discharge

Abstract The different periods characterizing spring-calving, pasture-based dairy systems common in Ireland have seldom been the focus of large-scale dairy cow welfare research. Thus, the aim of this study was to devise and conduct an animal-based welfare assessment during both the grazing and housing periods on spring-calving, pasture-based dairy farms, to identify areas for improvement and establish benchmarks for indicators of good welfare. Assessment of seven animal-based welfare indicators was conducted during two visits (one each at grazing and housing) to 82 commercial dairy farms in southern Ireland. Herd-level descriptive statistics were performed for all welfare indicators at each visit, and differences between visits were analyzed using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. A mean of 9% and 10% clinically lame cows (mobility score 2 and 3) were observed at housing and grazing respectively. Recommended body condition scores (BCS) were not met for a mean of 13% of cows at grazing and 23% at housing, with more over-conditioned cows present at housing than grazing (P < 0.001). Ocular discharge was uncommon in both periods. Prevalence of moderate and severe nasal discharge combined were lower during housing (5%) than grazing (7%). In both periods, similar mean levels of tail injury were observed; 2 to 3% of cows with tail lacerations, 9% with broken tails, and 8% (measured at housing only) with docked tails. Integument alterations involved primarily hair-loss and were most prevalent on the hindquarters (26%) during grazing, and on the head-neck-back region (66%), and the hindquarters (32%) during housing. Cows displayed an avoidance distance of > 1 m (indicative of a fearful response) from an approaching human in an average of 82% of grazing cows and 42% to 75% of housed cows, dependent on test location. Opportunities to improve welfare in this system were identified in the areas of tail injury prevention, nasal health and the management of indoor housing and feeding. The performance of the top 20% of farms for each welfare indicator was used to establish benchmarks of: 0 to 5% clinical lameness; 0 to 12% of cows outside recommended BCS; 0 to 27% ocular discharge; 2 to 16% nasal discharge; 0% tail lacerations and docked tails, and 0 to 3% tail breaks; 0 to 14% IA; and 4 to 74% for avoidance distance of > 1 m. These represent attainable targets for spring-calving pasture-based farms to promote good dairy cow welfare.

scholarly journals Dairy cow welfare assessment on Algerian farms

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 895-901
Author(s):  
Benatallah A ◽  
Ghozlane F ◽  
Marie M
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Cow Welfare

scholarly journals A Review of Welfare Indicators of Indoor-Housed Dairy Cow as a Basis for Integrated Automatic Welfare Assessment Systems

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1430
Author(s):  
Lisette M.C. Leliveld ◽  
Giorgio Provolo
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Welfare Issue ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Automatic Methods ◽  
Cow Welfare ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Integrate Data ◽  
Automatic Systems

For on-farm welfare assessment many automatic methods have been developed to detect indicators of reduced welfare. However, there is still a need to integrate data from single sources to obtain a complete picture of the welfare of an animal. This review offers a basis for developing integrated automatic systems to assess dairy cow welfare by providing an overview of the main issues that challenge cow welfare (e.g., lameness) and of well-established indicators that could detect these issues on the farm. Based on a literature review of 4 reviews on cow welfare in general and 48 reviews on single welfare issues, we identified 18 different major welfare issues and 76 matching indicators that could be detected automatically on the farm. Several indicators, e.g., feed intake, showed a consistent association with welfare across many different issues. Although some of these indicators are discussed critically, this means there are many indicators that potentially could detect reduced welfare in general. Other types of indicators could detect one specific welfare issue, e.g., increased respiratory rate for heat stress. These different types of indicators combined provide a basis to develop integrated automatic systems that ultimately would help farmers to detect welfare problems at an early stage.

scholarly journals Welfare assessment for dairy cows in loose stalls

2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 399-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slavca Hristov ◽  
Zvonko Zlatanovic ◽  
Branislav Stankovic ◽  
Dusica Ostojic-Andric ◽  
Vesna Davidovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Quantitative Measurements ◽  
Welfare Quality ◽  
Cow Welfare ◽  
Insight Into

In this paper, welfare assessment using the methodology of the Welfare quality ? assessment protocol for cattle (2009) was performed for dairy cows maintained in the loose system of rearing on three dairy farms. This methodology includes quantitative measurements and qualitative evaluation of certain welfare parameters, criteria and principles of welfare, as well as assessment of the overall welfare of dairy cows. The results showed that the overall level of dairy cow welfare was acceptable on two farms, and was good on one. On two farms, the state of the cows? social behavior expression was unacceptable. Furthermore, on all three farms, the expression of other types of cow behavior was not acceptable. At one farm, it was determined that the result for the absence of prolonged thirst was unacceptable. Based on these results, it can be concluded that it is necessary to improve the quality of cow welfare on these farms. The applied methodology provides a multidimensional insight into the quality of cow welfare in the loose system.

scholarly journals Identification of Animal-Based Welfare Indicators in Captive Reptiles: A Delphi Consultation Survey

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2010
Author(s):  
Alexandra L. Whittaker ◽  
Brianna Golder-Dewar ◽  
Jordyn L. Triggs ◽  
Sally L. Sherwen ◽  
David J. McLelland
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Nasal Discharge ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Regulatory Oversight ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Welfare Indicators

There is an increasing focus on evidence-based welfare assessment by animal care staff in zoos, along with a strong interest in animal welfare by the zoo-visiting public, to the extent that this can influence their choice of institutions to visit. Regulatory oversight of animal welfare standards continues to strengthen across many jurisdictions. Zoos are increasingly formalizing their practices with the development and refinement of evidence-based welfare assessment tools. There has been a drive for welfare assessment tools to comprise both resource-based and animal-based measures. However, animal-based indicators are not always well characterized, in terms of their nature and whether they infer a positive or negative affective state. This is especially so for reptiles, which are often considered behaviorally inexpressive and are under-researched. In this study, a Delphi consultation approach was used to gather expert opinion on the suitability of potential animal-based indicators of welfare for inclusion in a welfare assessment tool across four families of reptiles: Agamidae, Chelidae, Pythonidae, and Testudinidae. Two rounds of online surveys were conducted eliciting responses from a global group of professionals who work with reptiles. In the first survey, respondents were provided with an author-derived list of potential animal-based indicators for consideration of their validity and practicality as welfare indicators. The indicators were refined for the second survey including only those indicators that were considered valid or practical on the first survey (≥4 on a 5-point Likert scale), and that achieved ≥70% consensus amongst experts. In the second survey, respondents were asked to re-evaluate the reliability and practicality of the indicators and to rank them on these facets. Eight to ten assessment indicators for each family of reptiles were identified from Survey 2. These indicators were often health related, for example, presence of oculo-nasal discharge or wounds. However, some true behavioral indicators were identified, such as showing species-specific interest and alertness. These indicators should now be incorporated into taxon-tailored welfare assessment tools for trial and validation in captive reptile populations. This study provides a next step towards developing reptile-specific animal welfare assessment tools for these often-overlooked animals.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CHOICE OF MILKING INSTALLATIONS IN LOOSE HOUSING SYSTEMS OF COWS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
В.В. ГОРДЕЕВ ◽  
В.Е. ХАЗАНОВ
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Technical Level ◽  
Housing Systems ◽  
Working Shift ◽  
Technical And Economic Indicators

При выборе типа доильной установки и ее размера необходимо учитывать максимальное планируемое поголовье дойных коров и размер технологической группы, кратность и время одного доения, продолжительность рабочей смены дояров. Анализ технико-экономических показателей наиболее распространенных на сегодняшний день типов доильных установок одинакового технического уровня свидетельствует, что наилучшие удельные показатели имеет установка типа «Карусель» (1), а установка типа «Елочка» (2) требует более высоких затрат труда и средств. Установка «Параллель» (3) занимает промежуточное положение. Из анализа пропускной способности и количества необходимых операторов: установка 2 рекомендована для ферм с поголовьем дойного стада до 600 голов, 3 — не более 1200 дойных коров, 1 — более 1200 дойных коров. «Карусель» — наиболее рациональный, высокопроизводительный, легко автоматизируемый и, следовательно, перспективный способ доения в залах, особенно для крупных молочных ферм. The choice of the proper type and size of milking installations needs to take into account the maximum planned number of dairy cows, the size of a technological group, the number of milkings per day, and the duration of one milking and the operator's working shift. The analysis of technical and economic indicators of currently most common types of milking machines of the same technical level revealed that the Carousel installation had the best specific indicators while the Herringbone installation featured higher labour inputs and cash costs. The Parallel installation was found somewhere in between. In terms of the throughput and the required number of operators Herringbone is recommended for farms with up to 600 dairy cows, Parallel — below 1200 dairy cows, Carousel — above 1200 dairy cows. Carousel was found the most practical, high-performance, easily automated and, therefore, promising milking system for milking parlours, especially on the large-scale dairy farms.

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