Abstract
Simple SummaryMany factors, such as the climate, period of the year, time of day and housing, are known to affect cow behavior. However, it is not yet clear what is the combined effect of these factors. For instance, it is unclear whether warmer weather only alters cow behavior during the day or also during the night. Therefore, a survey was performed on eight dairy cow farms in Northern Italy in three periods: summer, winter and a temperate season (spring or autumn). Sensors were installed to monitor the temperature and humidity. Cow behavior was monitored with cameras and with accelerometers that were placed on their legs. These methods allow us to determine how much time the cows spent lying, standing or feeding. We found that both daytime and nighttime behavior differed between the periods and that housing had an effect not only on the behavior itself but also on how it changed between the periods and from daytime to nighttime. These findings show the importance of measuring behavior during both daytime and nighttime and illustrate the influence of the barn structure and farm management on cow behavior and welfare.Dairy cow behavior is affected by external and endogenous factors, including time of year, barn microclimate, time of day and housing. However, little is known about the combined effects of these factors. Data were collected on eight farms in Northern Italy during summer, winter and a temperate season. The temperature-humidity index (THI) was recorded using environmental sensors, whereas cow behavior was monitored using leg accelerometers and cameras. Period, time of day and their interaction all significantly affected lying, standing and feeding behavior. However, although THI had a significant negative effect on lying and a positive effect on standing during daytime (all p < 0.001), during nighttime, it only had a significant negative effect on lying duration and mean lying bout duration (p < 0.001 for both). There was also significant variation between farms in all behavioral parameters, as well as interactions with period and time of day. For instance, farm differences in lying duration were more pronounced during daytime than during nighttime. These findings show how housing can interact with other factors, such as period of the year and time of day, and illustrate the influence of barn structure and farm management on cow behavior and, consequently, their welfare.
Highlights
Dairy cow welfare is a long-underrated issue that has recently gained more attention from both scientists and legislators [1,2]
Nighttime cow lying index (CLI) was unaffected by period, whereas daytime CLI decreased significantly during the summer compared to winter (t = −0.15, p < 0.001) and temperate seasons
The results of this study show that cow behavior is affected by the period of the year, the time of day and housing
Summary
Dairy cow welfare is a long-underrated issue that has recently gained more attention from both scientists and legislators [1,2]. It is well established that lying behavior is a useful indicator of their health and welfare (e.g., [4,5]). Heat stress is often found to reduce lying time (e.g., [11,12,13,14]), as cows prefer to rest while standing to increase the body surface available for cooling [15]. As mentioned above, standing increases during heat stress (e.g., [16]) as well as in cows with mastitis [10]. Another important behavioral indicator of cow welfare is feed intake [5]. Feed intake may be costly to monitor, feeding time has been found to correlate highly with feed intake [23] and, could be a cost-effective alternative indicator of cow welfare [5]
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