The eff ect of air temperature and time of day on distribution of Czech Fleckvieh cows within the barn was studied on a dairy farm located in the south of Moravia, CR, (49°12'31.875"N, 16°23'43.146"E). The cows were loose-housed in a barn with stalls. The fl oor surface was made of separated manure. The observation was carried out in one of the four sections (100 cows) of the barn (total 400 cows). The observed section was visually divided into two parts -le L (situated centrally) and right R (situated peripherally). Video camera images (the total of 5304 images were evaluated) revealed the distribution of cows within the barn and the presence of cows in parts A or B. The air temperature was monitored by temperature sensors. At lower temperatures (up to 19.00 °C), the distribution of cows within the barn was even, at higher temperatures, the cows had a distinct tendency to crowd in L side of the barn (up to 100% of them). The cows were scattered evenly around the barn up to 10.00 in the morning and a er 19:01 in the evening. During the day between 10.00 and 19.01, the cows tended to group in L part (up to 100% of them). They never grouped in R part. It was found out that changes in distribution of cows within the barn were associated with both air temperature and time of day. The changes in mean air temperature during the day were defi ned as y = 0.000002x 4 − 0.0005x 3 + 0.0412x 2 − 0.8876x + 18.515 (where y = air temperature and x time of day in hours) with R 2 = 0.957.

This study was carried out with the aim to assess the eff ect of temperature and time of day on the values of welfare indices in Holstein dairy cows. The observation continued for one year and included 77 Holstein cows. The cows were loose-housed in one of the four sections of the barn with strawbedded stalls. The cows were milked three times a day (at 4.00, 8.00 and 17.00). The barn is situated on Mendel University farm in Žabčice (the Czech Republic: GPS 49°051.786N, 16°3614.809E). The air temperature was monitored with three sensors fi tted at the level of the animals' whithers in 15-minute intervals. The following welfare indices were evaluated: CCI (the Cow Comfort Index), CCI* (the modifi ed Cow Comfort Index which refl ects the motivation to lie down), SSI (the Stall Standing Index) and PEL (the Proportion Eligible Lying). The maximal CCI values (above 90%) and the minimal SSI values (below 10%) were found (in the barn in Zabcice) at temperatures up to 30 °C. The maximal CCI* values (above 70%) only occurred at temperatures up to 20 °C. The maximal PEL values (above 80%) were detected at temperatures up to 25 °C. The maximal CCI values (above 90%) as well as the minimal SSI values (below 10%) were found in the period between 9.00 and 12.00 (+1 to +3 hours a er milking). The maximal PEL values (above 80%) occurred in the period between 9.00 and 16.00 (+1 to +8 hours a er milking). The maximal CCI* values (above 70%) were detected between 14.00 and 15.00 (+6 to +7 hours a er milking). CCI* index appears to be more eligible for welfare assessment compared to CCI index. This study could have a practical impact on cattle husbandry because it may help the farmers secure adequate husbandry conditions for the animals and thus positively aff ect milk production.

Objective: This study was focused on the estimation of parameters of Wood's model and description of the lactation curve using the cows which were lactated over 24 months on the first lactation. Methods: The database included 1 333 pure-bred dairy Simmental primiparous cows which lactated for 24 months (732 days). The initial dataset entering the procedure of assessment of parameters of Wood's function included 35 826 milk yield records. Milk yield was recorded throughout lactation, with the earliest record taken on day 6 and the latest on day 1 348 of lactation. This dataset was used for the assessment of parameters a, b, c of Wood's model using the non-linear statistical procedure. These parameters were estimated for different length of lactation. The assessed parameters were used for calculation of some characteristics of lactation curves. Results: The lowest value of a parameter (15.2317) of Wood's model of lactation curve was found out in lactations up to 305 days long, contrary to b and c parameters which were highest in those lactations (0.1029 and 0.0015, respectively). The maximum value of a parameter (17.4329) was found out in lactations up to 640 days long, unlike b and c parameters which were minimal in those lactations (0.0603 and 0.0010, respectively). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the parameters of Wood's model and the shape of lactation curve are changing with the growing number of milk yield records. Also, the assessed parameters revealed a significant milk production potential after 305 days of lactation.

VEČEŘA, M., FALTA, D., CHLÁDEK, G., MÁCHAL, L.: The eff ect of low and high barn temperatures on behaviour and performance of Holstein dairy cows. Acta univ. agric. et silvic. Mendel. Brun., 2012, LX, No. 6, pp. 343-350 The experiment was carried out at the University Training Farm in Žabčice (the Czech Republic; location 49°0'51.081"N, 16°36'14.848"E, 179 m.a.s.l) over the period of one year (1 st July to 30 th June). The assessment of temperature impact was based on data from 16 hottest days (H) and 16 coldest days (L). The experimental group consisted of 70 cows in various stage of lactation (30d-210d) and parity (1-8). The cows were housed in a section (one quarter) of a free-stall barn with 77 stalls in three rows. Row A was located peripherally, close to the side wall, row B was in the middle and row C was situated centrally, close to the feed table. The cows were observed weekly on the same day at 9.00 a.m. The microclimate characteristics were recorded daily: temperature in hot (H) resp. cold (L) period was in average 27.1°C resp. -1.47 °C, and relative humidity 54.4 % resp. 77.3 %, and THI 75 resp. 33. Behaviour was described by a number of cows standing or lying down, number of cows lying down on their le or right side and row preference (A, B, C) in the resting area. Cow Comfort Index (CCIa number of cows lying down at given time) was calculated. A total of 1587 observations were analysed. A number of cows lying down (922) was signifi cantly higher than that of standing cows (665). Milk production was signifi cantly higher in hot (H) period (by 1.0-1.7 kg). There was an interaction in milk production between period and standing. In H period the standing cows produced more milk, in L period vice versa. The cows with non-signifi cant tendency towards le -side laterality produced more milk (by 1.2 kg). No interaction was found between period and laterality for milk production. All the observed parameters signifi cantly diff ered between rows A, B and C. Row A was the most preferred, the cows preferring it were young (low number of lactation) with greatest milk production. The cows in row C had the lowest milk production and were in late lactation. The interaction was found between period and row aff ected number of lactation (P < 0.01) and number of cows (P < 0.05). In H period the row A was preferred by older cows (high number of lactation), while in L period it was preferred by younger cows. The cows in H period used row C less while in L period they preferred it. AddressIng. Milan Večeřa, Ústav chovu a šlechtění zvířat, Mendelova univerzita v Brně, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Česká republika,

a group of 98 czech fleckvieh cows (one section) was observed over the period of one year with the aim to determine the variation in their milk performance and behaviour at different cowshed temperatures. behaviour and milk yield were recorded once a week (on the same day) at 10:00. periods of 8 weeks with the highest temperature (hot period -h) and of 8 weeks with the lowest temperature (cold period -l) were then compared. The cows were housed in one section (1/4 of the total capacity) of the free-stall cubicle shed and where the cubicles were distributed into three rows. row a (32 cubicles) was close to the feeding plateau, row b (33 cubicles) was in the centre and row c (38 cubicles) was peripheral, close to the side wall. The cowshed temperature was monitored on a daily basis and the mean temperature was 23.2°c in the hot period and -1.7°c in the cold period, relative humidity 60.2% (h) and 74.6% (l), and Thi 69.4 (h) and 33.4 (l). The behaviour of the cows was recorded 1568 times, showing them mostly lying down (1037) or standing (531). The cows tended to prefer lying down on their left sides (594 observations) as opposed to their right sides (443). row a was favoured by the cows (418) and row b was the least popular (377). The cows produced significantly more milk in H period than in L period (0.3 kg per day). The cows lying down were older (3.18 lactations) than the standing cows (2.99 lactations) and they tended to produce more milk per day (by 0.6 kg) but the difference was found to be insignificant. The cows lying resting on their left side produced more milk per day (0.9 kg) and were older (0.02 lactations). The cows in row c were the youngest (2.94 lactations) and the cows in row b were in the last days in milk (144.1 days). key words: czech fleckvieh, temperature, behaviour, cowsAlthough the process of domestication brought about a number of important, even essential, changes in farm animal performance, the environmental requirements Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/11/18 10:04 PM