scholarly journals Method for comparing current versus recommended housing conditions in dairy cattle production

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Gaworski ◽  
Michał Boćkowski
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Cattle Production ◽  
Technical Standards ◽  
Housing Systems ◽  
Cow Comfort

The objective of the study was to propose a method to assess how well some housing conditions in barns meet national standards and recommendations. The key element of the method was to investigate the index of technical standards fulfilment (ITSF), which shows differences between current housing conditions created by barn facilities and some standards. The lower differences are expressed by higher ITSF value, whereas the index values range from 0 to 1. Data collected in 38 dairy farms (with tie-stall and freestall housing systems) were used for the ITSF index analyses. The ITSF index values for the two compared housing systems were calculated for measurements carried out in four zones in each barn: lying, social, feeding and milking areas. There were higher average ITSF index values for the freestall system than for the tie-stall housing system across all investigated zones included in the barns. Investigations can support farmers to improve some conditions of dairy production in the barns including consciousness of some standards on dairy facilities and cow comfort.

scholarly journals Comparing welfare indicators in dairy cattle under different loose housing systems (deep litter vs cubicle barns) using recycled manure solids for bedding

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. e0501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Molina ◽  
Estrella I. Agüera ◽  
Carlos C. Pérez-Marín ◽  
Francisco Maroto-Molina
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Housing Systems ◽  
Welfare Quality ◽  
The Impact

Aim of study: Dairy farmers in Southern Spain are continuously investing in the modernization of their facilities and frequently ask technicians about the type of housing they should choose for their farms. Although some studies have analysed the economic impact of different housing systems, there are no reports evaluating the impact of these systems on animal wellbeing. To remedy this deficit, a study was carried out to analyse animal welfare status in two types of loose housing conditions: deep litter (DL) and cubicle (CU) barns.Area of study: This study was conducted in Cordoba (Spain).Material and methods: A total of 1,597 cows from nineteen commercial dairy farms were involved in this study, of which twelve had CU barns and seven had DL barns. Welfare Quality assessment was used to evaluate animal wellbeing, inn order to compare both housing systems.Main results: The study found some weaknesses for feeding and health indicators of animal welfare in both types of housing systems. The overall welfare assessment based on feeding, housing and health indicators showed no differences between farms with DL or CU barns.Research highlights: A good welfare status could be reached under any type of housing system.

scholarly journals Rearing conditions, health and welfare of dairy cows

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 25-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slavca Hristov ◽  
B. Stankovic ◽  
Z. Zlatanovic ◽  
M. Joksimovic-Todorovic ◽  
V. Davidovic
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Absolute Minimum ◽  
Housing Systems ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Normal Behavior ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
Rearing Conditions ◽  
Recent Developments

This paper provides an overview of recent developments in rearing conditions, health and welfare issues of dairy cows. The last approximately 30 years has witnessed worldwide increasing scientific research, consumer activity, and political response towards housing condition, health and welfare issues of dairy cattle. All buildings and housing systems for dairy cattle should be designed, constructed, maintained and managed to assist in the achievement of the Five Freedoms: freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury and disease, freedom to express normal behavior and freedom from fear and distress. Whether dairy cows are housed in cubicles, straw yards or cow sheds, in order to maximize their performance and to ensure satisfactory standards of welfare, the accommodation must provide the most basic behavioral and physiological needs. As an absolute minimum, the housing must provide a comfortable, clean, well drained and dry lying area together with shelter from adverse weather. Also, it must allow the cow to move freely around without risk of injury and certain diseases. If the housing system does not provide for these basic needs, then not only will health, welfare and production of dairy cattle be compromised, but it is likely that failure to comply with the welfare codes and the law relating to animal welfare will occur.

Generation intervals in Canadian dairy cattle herds

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-183
Author(s):  
Bernard Ato Hagan ◽  
Roger Cue
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Artificial Insemination ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Path Selection ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Genetic Progress ◽  
Brown Swiss ◽  
Holstein Breed ◽  
Cattle Herds

Genetic evaluation records for the Canadian Holstein, Ayrshire, Jersey, and Brown Swiss bulls and cows born from 1950 and 1960, respectively, were used to study the generation intervals (L) along the four-path selection model. The objectives of the study were to determine the L in the four dairy cattle breeds and the effects of some environmental factors and variations among herds or artificial insemination (AI) studs on the L achieved. Total L of the four selection paths was reduced by 55% from 29.2 yr in 1980 to 13.2 yr in 2016 in the Holstein breed. Substantial reductions in total L were also observed in the Ayrshire, Jersey, and Brown Swiss populations between 1980 and 2016. Unlike progeny year of birth, housing system, agricultural region in Québec (region) — as well as their interaction — were not important on realised L of sires and dams used on Canadian dairy farms. There were significant variations among herds and AI studs on the age of sires and dams used for breeding. The considerable variations in realised L among herds and AI studs offer opportunities to increase the annual rate of genetic progress in the four Canadian dairy cattle populations.

scholarly journals Accurate heat detection and health monitoring of cattle by SCR sense neck collar

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 075-79
Author(s):  
D. Indira ◽  
J. Suresh ◽  
Y. Ravindra reddy
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Accurate Detection ◽  
Animal Activity ◽  
Precision Dairy Farming ◽  
Cow Comfort

Heat detection in dairy cattle is most important step in successful running of Dairy farms. But due to failure of heat detection at right time the dairy farms running under loss. To overcome this problem the Dodla Dairy at Pulivendula, Kadapa district introduced Heat Detection and Health monitoring SCR cSense Flex Neck Tag which aids in precision dairy farming by accurate detection of heat and monitoring animal activity status. After introduction of this new technology there were a lot of changes noticed and achieved the targeted results in terms of reproduction, health, nutrition, cow comfort and labor.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Dairy Cattle Productivity in Smallholder Farms in Nyeri County, Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Aweer Duot Ajak ◽  
Charles K. Gachuiri ◽  
Margaret M. M. Wanyoike
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Cattle Production ◽  
Feed Resources ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Smallholder Dairy ◽  
Smallholder Dairy Farms

Dairy cattle production contributes approximately 4.5% of the Kenyan National Gross Domestic Product, creates jobs along the value chain and plays a key role in food security. However, average milk yield per cow is still low under smallholder dairy production system despite concerted efforts to improve productivity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the productivity of smallholder dairy farms in 2 sub-counties of Nyeri County. A semi structured questionnaire was administered to collect data on feed resources and feeding systems, breeds and breeding systems, calf management, age at first service (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), milk yield (MY) and lactation length (LL) in smallholder dairy farms. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The dominant feed resources and feeding system were roughages (mostly Napier grass), concentrates and mineral supplements (87.2%) and stall feeding (74.2%). Majority of the farmers kept Friesians (82.2%) with (94.5%) using artificial insemination. Most of the farmers (83.5%) fed 2-4 litres of colostrum to the calves and the method of feeding was majorly bucket feeding (93.0%). High proportion of farmers (97.7%) fed the colostrum from 0-6 hours after calving and (59.6%) weaned calves at 3 months. The AFS was mainly 18-20 months and above, while the mean AFC, CI, and LL were 28.7±2.84, 15.2±5.11 and 10.0±4.90 months, respectively. The mean milk yield was 10.7±5.85 litres/cow/day. The main challenges to dairy cattle production were feed shortages (30.6%), low farmgate milk prices (28.3%) and high cost of concentrate feeds (17.8%). It was concluded that performance of dairy cattle in the study area was poor attributed mostly to feed shortages and low milk prices. To improve productivity, feed availability and cost together with farmgate price of milk should be addressed.

scholarly journals Association of trypanosomosis risk with dairy cattle production in western Kenya

2005 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.L. Mugunieri ◽  
G.O. Matete
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Dairy Products ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Lactation Period ◽  
Cattle Production ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Social ◽  
Trypanosomosis Risk

Dairy cattle reared in western Kenya are exposed to medium to high levels of trypanosomosis risk. The social background, farm characteristics and dairy cattle productivity of 90 and 30 randomly selected farmers from medium- and high-risk trypanosomosis areas, respectively, were compared. All the 120 farmers were visited between July and August 2002. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. The results showed that increased trypanosomosis risk represented by an increase in disease prevalence in cattle of 1% to 20 % decreased the density of dairy cattle by 53 % and increased the calving interval from 14 to 25 months. The increased risk was also associated with a significant increase in cattle mortalities and in a lactation period of 257 to 300 days. It was concluded that removal of the trypanosomosis constraint on dairy production would lead to expansion of dairying since the domestic demand for dairy products is expected to increase.

scholarly journals Status, Characterization and Typology of Dairy Cattle Farms in Northern Algeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Said BOUKHECHEM ◽  
Nora MIMOUNE ◽  
Mohamed Khalil GHOZLANE ◽  
Nassim MOULA ◽  
Rachid KAIDI
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Calving Interval ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Northern Algeria ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Cattle Farms

The aim of this study was to make a finding about the structural, functional and performance aspects of 217 dairy farms in northern Algeria through a survey, then to establish a diagnosis and a typology of these farms.The results showed that farms had an average size of 42.7 ± 102 ha, of which 34.5% was fodder area (FA), and an average of 28 ± 34.5 livestock units (LU) per farm, of which 65% were dairy cows (DC) dominated mainly by the Holstein and Montbeliarde breeds (74.8% of the total herd). The average number of annual work unit (AWU) was 2.98 ± 1.92 AWU/farm of which 78 ± 35% was a family labour. The farms’ performances were generally low. Dairy production (DP) average was 14.3 ± 4.77 kg/cow/day/farm, while fertility represented by calving interval (CI) was 397 ± 20.2 days/cow/farm. The use of multidimensional statistical methods has identified five types of farms.This study revealed a poor exploitation of the dairy potential of cows raised in Algeria, with the dominance of archaic breeding practices that oppose the welfare of these cows. To optimize dairy farming, solutions have been proposed.

scholarly journals Association of trypanosomosis risk with dairy cattle production in western Kenya

2005 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
G.L. Mugunieri ◽  
G.O. Matete
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Dairy Products ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Lactation Period ◽  
Cattle Production ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Social ◽  
Trypanosomosis Risk

Dairy cattle reared in western Kenya are exposed to medium to high levels of trypanosomosis risk. The social background, farm characteristics and dairy cattle productivity of 90 and 30 randomly selected farmers from medium- and high-risk trypanosomosis areas, respectively, were compared. All the 120 farmers were visited between July and August 2002. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. The results showed that increased trypanosomosis risk represented by an increase in disease prevalence in cattle of 1% to 20 % decreased the density of dairy cattle by 53 % and increased the calving interval from 14 to 25 months. The increased risk was also associated with a significant increase in cattle mortalities and in a lactation period of 257 to 300 days. It was concluded that removal of the trypanosomosis constraint on dairy production would lead to expansion of dairying since the domestic demand for dairy products is expected to increase.

scholarly journals Influence of the Housing System and the Season on Some Parameters Indicative of the Welfare of Dairy Cows in Eastern Algeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Imene DJAALAB ◽  
Hadria MANSOUR-DJAALAB ◽  
Foulla RIACHI ◽  
Abdel Fattah BEGHRICHE ◽  
Samia HAFFAF ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Housing Systems ◽  
Eastern Algeria

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of housing systems (free vs. tie-stall) and season (winter vs. spring) on the welfare of dairy cows through indices of cleanliness, leg health (straightness, hocks and knees), lameness score, body condition and milk production. This is to test the hypothesis that dairy cows in spring and free-stalls have a better quality of well-being than those kept in tie stalls in winter. For that, 299 dairy cows of the Holstein and Montbeliard breeds were selected from dairy farms in 6 communes of the Constantine governorate in eastern Algeria. The results showed that tie-stalled farms in winter were characterized by a lack of hygiene (P <0.001), with a stall cleanliness score of 7.62 and a frequency of 32.60% of dirty to very dirty cows. In the spring, the incidence of severe lameness does not exceed 9% in farms with tie stalls and more than 41% in mild lameness in housing with free stalls (P <0.001). Cows in tie stalls show a deviation of legs of 17° to 24° (57.97%). On the other hand, more than half of cows in free stalls show integumentary lesions (alopecia and swelling) of the carpal (60.25%) and tarsal joints (54.22%) (P <0.001). The percentage of fairly lean cows (score 2-2.5), housed in tie stalls, was significantly higher (18 to 44%) with a significantly low milk production (P <0.001). These results reflect a lack of comfort in tie-stall farms during winter which has an impact on dairy performance.

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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