Qualitative Behaviour Assessment of Dairy Cows Housed in Tie- and Free Stall Housing Systems

Abstract

Qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) is an important component in animal welfare studies. This method is based on the integration by observers of perceived animal behaviour, using qualitative descriptors such as ‘calm’, ‘agitated’, ‘aggressive’, ‘indifferent’, ‘sociable’ etc. The QBA summarises the different aspects of the animal’s ‘dynamic style of interaction’ with its environment (Wemelsfelder et al., 2001).Recent studies show that QBA can be a valuable tool for assessing behavioural expression in farm animals under field conditions (Brscic et al., 2009; Wemelsfelder and Millard, 2009).