Abstract
Three farms of dairy cows (A, B and C) were observed for health disorders of dairy cows and suckling calves. Farm A is farm with tied system of rearing, with 1100 cows, while farms B and C have 400 and 600 cows kept loose with outdoor pens, respectively. Data regarding welfare criteria of dairy cows (health, feeding, housing and behaviour) were collected and analysed through Protocol of Welfare Quality (2009). Health disorders of dairy cows and suckling calves were collected and statistically analysed by chi-square test (?2 test). Welfare of all of three dairy farms were assessed as acceptable, meaning that provided welfare conditions meet the minimum requirements of animals. Principle of provision of good health was rated as acceptable (?20 points) on farm A, while on farms with loose system (B and C) overall health rated as excellent (?80 points). Occurrence rate of reproductive, locomotor, skin and claws disorders and digestive and systemic disorders of dairy cows and calves up to 4 months old were very different between three farms (A, B, C) with ?2-values of 2901.71, 252.02, 204.08, 1152.31 and 184.23 respectively; ?<0.01). According presented data, it is obvious that the majority health problems were observed in tied system of rearing, on farm A, such as reproductive disorders and mastitis, as well as injuries and bad body score and lame cows. The most serious health problems of the calves were diarrhea and bronchopneumonia of different etiology.
Highlights
Among the different components of dairy cow welfare, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported that dairy cows are especially affected by poor health (EFSA, 2012)
Having in mind that many diseases often occur in dairy farms in Serbia, the objective of this paper was set to analyse welfare on three farms of different capacity with tied and loose system of rearing, the principle of the good health in respect of the health disorders of these dairy cattle categories
Dairy cattle welfare of all of three dairy farms were assessed as acceptable, meaning that provided welfare conditions meet the minimum requirements of animals
Summary
Among the different components of dairy cow welfare (health, feeding, housing and behaviour), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported that dairy cows are especially affected by poor health (EFSA, 2012). Welfare indicator includes many injuries that disturb health status of cattle causing pain through estimation of injuries like lameness and skin alterations; diseases through scrutinizing occurrence of coughing, nasal, ocular and vulvar discharge, hampered respiration, milk somatic cell count, diarrhoea, dystocia, downer cows and mortality, as well as pain induced by management procedures, such as dehorning and tail docking. Many more diseases and disorders occur in farm conditions, reducing production and reproductive results and compromising welfare of different categories of cattle (Broom and Fraser, 2007; Hristov et al, 2012; Stanković et al, 2012). Having in mind that many diseases often occur in dairy farms in Serbia, the objective of this paper was set to analyse welfare on three farms of different capacity with tied and loose system of rearing, the principle of the good health in respect of the health disorders of these dairy cattle categories
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