A Comparison of Rice Husks and Peanut Shells as Bedding Materials on Dairy Cows’ Preferences, Behaviour, and Health

Abstract

The provision and quality of bedding materials affect the behaviour, welfare, and health of dairy cows. The objective of this study was to evaluate the preference, behaviour, cleanliness, and physiological status of cows on three bedding materials, peanut shells, rice husks, and a combination of two-thirds peanut shells, one-third rice husk. In an initial experiment, 15 nonlactating, pregnant Holstein cows had free access to all 3 bedding treatments for 39 d. Cows spent more time lying down on rice husk (337 min/d) than on peanut–rice combination (212 min/d) and peanut shell (196 min/d) (p < 0.05), and lay down most often on rice husk (4.35 bouts/d) than on peanut shell (2.55 bouts/d) (p < 0.05) but did not differ between peanut shells and peanut–rice combinations in terms of lying time and lying bouts. In Experiment 2, 12 nonlactating cows were used to assess the effects of the 3 bedding materials on dairy cow behaviour, cleanliness, serum indicators, and productivity. The total duration of lying down (PS: 699.1 min/d, PRC: 645.6 min/d, RH: 852.5 min/d), the frequency of bouts of lying down (PS: 8.7 bouts/d, PRC: 7.6 bouts/d, RH: 11.1 bouts/d), and the mean duration of lying bouts (PS: 83.5 min/bouts, PRC: 91.8 min/bouts, RH: 81.4 min/bouts) did not differ between treatments. Similarly, no differences in eating or drinking behaviour of dairy cows were observed. In terms of hygiene, cleanliness scores did not differ between the three bedding materials, but udder and flank cleanliness decreased and improved, respectively. In addition, treatments did not affect serum metabolites or productivity of the cows. In summary, daily behaviour, serum metabolites, and productivity of dairy cows were all within the normal range, and no statistical differences occurred between the three bedding materials, although cows showed a preference for rice husk when given access to all three bedding materials at the same time. Finally, the results suggest that bedding comprised of peanut shells and peanut–rice combinations are all suitable for maintaining the health and comfort of dairy cows.

Effect of Peanut Shell and Rice Husk Bedding for Dairy Cows: An Analysis of Material Properties and Colostrum Microbiota

“…The average time of cows kept in different bedding treatments was 32 d for peanut shells, 28 d for the peanut–rice combination, and 31 d for rice husks before calving. The effects of bedding types on cow behavior and welfare have already been reported and the management of the bedding has already been described [ 21 ]. In brief, the bedding was levelled daily, and feces removed while the cows were eating in their pen.…”

“…To measure the dry matter (DM) content of the bedding, 200 g bedding samples per bedding treatment were collected in the sampling period. Each sample consisted of 5 subsamples (approximately 40 g per subsample) of the surface materials following the procedure described by Li et al [ 21 ]. The samples were dried for 72 h at 65 °C using an electric heating constant temperature (blast) drying oven (DHG-9030A, Shanghai Jinghong Experimental Equipment Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China), and the percentage of dry matter content (%) was calculated using equation (1) where M wet is the mass of the new material (g), M dry is the dry mass of the material (g).…”

“…In recent years, rising prices of raw materials have caused dairy farmers to consider alternative materials, including forest biomass (e.g., tree bark and vegetal fibers), conifer forest litter, seagrass (e.g., posidonia oceanica ), and flax straw [ 17 , 20 ]. In China, peanut shells are a possible bedding material for dairy cows, supporting cow cleanliness to at least as high a degree as rice husk, which is another alternative bedding shown to be preferred by cows for lying on [ 21 ]. Despite this, the use of peanut shells and rice husk bedding in dairies has received little empirical scrutiny.…”

Dynamic Changes in Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Community in Three Types of Recycled Manure Solids for Dairy Heifers

“…Most previous studies on RMSs have focused on the physicochemical properties, safety and microbial composition during the preparation period, as well as animal welfare, barn environment and milk quality of RMS beddings during the feeding period [7,[17][18][19][20]. In the actual culture stage, there are relatively few studies on the physicochemical properties, internal gas changes and the relationship between RMS bedding and microbial composition.…”

Evaluation of Suitability of New Bedding Material Obtained after Straw Biogasification for Dairy Cows

“…The suitability of different bedding materials to improve animal welfare has been studied in terms of lying comfort, the ease of standing up and lying down, and the reduction of the risk of mastitis due to environmental pathogens [7,[9][10][11]. There is also great interest in the use of by-products of industry, such as forest biomass [3,8], rice husks and peanut shells [12], recycled sand, digested manure solids [13], and recycling manure solids [14]. This study's objective was to compare wheat straw, a conventional bedding material, with the biomass produced after biogas production from straw.…”