Abstract
As a global society, we have a duty to provide suitable care and conditions for farmed livestock to protect animal welfare and ensure the sustainability of our food supply. The suitability and biological impacts of housing conditions for intensively farmed animals is a complex and emotive subject, yet poorly researched, meaning quantitative evidence to inform policy and legislation is lacking. Most dairy cows globally are housed for some duration during the year, largely when climatic conditions are unfavourable. However, the impact on biology, productivity and welfare of even the most basic housing requirement, the quantity of living space, remains unknown. We conducted a long-term (1-year), randomised controlled trial (CONSORT 10 guidelines) to investigate the impact of increased living space (6.5 m2 vs 3 m2 per animal) on critical aspects of cow biology, behaviour and productivity. Adult Holstein dairy cows (n = 150) were continuously and randomly allocated to a high or control living space group with all other aspects of housing remaining identical between groups. Compared to cows in the control living space group, cows with increased space produced more milk per 305d lactation (primiparous: 12,235 L vs 11,592 L, P < 0.01; multiparous: 14,746 L vs 14,644 L, P < 0.01) but took longer to become pregnant after calving (primiparous: 155 d vs 83 d, P = 0.025; multiparous: 133 d vs 109 d). In terms of behaviour, cows with more living space spent significantly more time in lying areas (65 min/d difference; high space group: 12.43 h/day, 95% CI = 11.70–13.29; control space group: 11.42 h/day, 95% CI = 10.73–12.12) and significantly less time in passageways (64 min/d), suggesting enhanced welfare when more space was provided. A key physiological difference between groups was that cows with more space spent longer ruminating each day. This is the first long term study in dairy cows to demonstrate that increased living space results in meaningful benefits in terms of productivity and behaviour and suggests that the interplay between farmed animals and their housed environment plays an important role in the concepts of welfare and sustainability of dairy farming.
Highlights
Further reports within the human literature highlight that living space is critical for health and wellbeing of occupants[43–45], we hypothesise that living space would have similar benefits for housed dairy cows, given they are sentient beings and experiences within their environment are likely to impact their welfare. We addressed this critical research gap by conducting a long-term experimental research trial to evaluate the impact of living space on dairy cow productivity, reproductive biology and behaviour
Our results show that increased living space in dairy cow accommodation leads to increased milk production, a deterioration in reproductive performance and altered cow behaviours likely to be positive for welfare
Overall the results strongly suggest that increased living space is beneficial for dairy cows and could enhance the sustainability of dairy industry and welfare of animals worldwide
Summary
Ethical permission was granted by the Home Office and the University of Nottingham ethical review committee; the study was conducted under the Animal [Scientific Procedures] Act 1986, license number MG_P07992717. The study adhered to all aspects of the CONSORT 1095 and ARRIVE96 guidelines to inform both study design and reporting. Methods were undertaken in accordance with Home Office guidelines and regulations. The research comprised a randomised, controlled [1:1], long-term (1 year), longitudinal, parallel-group (pairs of adult dairy cows matched by parity and days in milk), cross-over (group location within facility) study to evaluate superiority/inferiority of a space allowance intervention for housed dairy cattle
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