Behaviour, Hygiene, and Lameness of Dairy Cows in a Compost Barn During Cold Seasons in a Subtropical Climate

Jaqueline A Pilatti,Frederico Márcio C Vieira,Edgar S Vismara,Lucélia Fátima Dos Santos,Piotr Herbut

doi:10.2478/aoas-2021-0033

Jaqueline A Pilatti, Frederico Márcio C Vieira + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2021-0033

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Abstract

AbstractThis study aimed to assess the thermal environment, behaviour, hygiene, and lameness in dairy cows with different numbers of lactations housed in a compost-bedded pack barn system in a humid subtropical climate during autumn and winter. Between April and July 2016, behavioural and microclimatic environment assessments were conducted in a compost barn system, and hygiene and lameness assessments were performed. Crossbred cows in lactation (n = 10) were divided into two groups according to the number of lactations: primiparous and multiparous. Air temperature, relative humidity, and air ventilation speed were measured at 09:00, 12:00, and 15:00. The cows’ hygiene and lameness were evaluated using subjective scores ranging from 1 to 4 and 1 to 5, respectively. The daytime behaviour assessment was performed as sampling 0/1, using the focal method. Primiparous cows showed a greater probability of walking (P<0.05) than multiparous cows between 09:20 and 11:20, and at 15:20, and increased the water intake at 14:00. Regarding the eating behaviour and the effect of time of day within each group (P<0.05), the cows ate more in the morning’s early hours. The cows’ hygiene scores were 1 or 2, and most cows presented scores of 1 or 2 for lameness. Our research has shown that microclimatic variables may influence the walking behaviour and water intake of primiparous cows during the hottest periods of the day, even during cold weather, in a humid subtropical climate. The dairy cows showed low hygiene and lameness scores, which indicates that the compost bar positively influenced cleanliness and locomotion comfort.

Highlights

The choice of cows’ environment is an important decision within dairy production because it affects animal welfare, which directly impacts productivity, milk quality, and reproduction (Bewley et al, 2017)
Many producers have opted for an alternative loose housing system for dairy cows, the compost-bedded pack barn (CB), which may have the ability to improve the longevity of dairy cows (Leso et al, 2019)
CB has been adopted to house diseased animals and those with a high degree of lameness (Costa et al, 2018) because the prevalence of lameness in this system is low (Burgstaller et al, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

The choice of cows’ environment is an important decision within dairy production because it affects animal welfare, which directly impacts productivity, milk quality, and reproduction (Bewley et al, 2017). A well-handled bed might keep the cows hygienic and reduce the risk of mastitis (Barberg et al, 2007; Fávero et al, 2015) In addition to these welfare aspects, CB allows greater freedom of movement for cows to express their natural behaviour when lying down, due to the greater space per animal in the bed area (Endres and Barberg, 2007). The thermal conditions of the environment in dry and hot climates affect the behaviour and, dairy cow welfare in CB (Peixoto et al, 2019). Under these conditions, efficient ventilation systems can alleviate the discomfort of cows (Oliveira et al, 2019; Pinto et al, 2019 a). The objectives of this research were to characterise the thermal environment, hygiene, and lameness of cows under CB conditions

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