Effects of acute lying and sleep deprivation on the behavior of lactating dairy cows

Abstract

29The objective was to determine the effects of sleep or lying deprivation on the behavior 30 of dairy cows. Data were collected from 8 multi-and 4 primiparous cows (DIM = 199 ± 44 31 (mean ± SD); days pregnant = 77 ± 30). Using a crossover design, each cow experienced: 1) 32 sleep deprivation implemented by noise or physical contact when their posture suggested sleep, 33 and 2) lying deprivation imposed by a grid placed on the pen floor. One day before treatment 34 (baseline), and treatment day (treatment) were followed by a 12-d washout period. Study days 35 were organized from 2100 to 2059. During habituation (d -3 and -2 before treatment), baseline (d 36 -1), and trt (d 0), housing was individual boxstalls (mattress with no bedding). After treatment, 37 cows returned to sand-bedded freestalls for a 7-d recovery period (d 1 to 7) where data on lying 38 behaviors were collected. Daily lying time, number lying bouts, bout duration, and number of 39 steps were recorded by dataloggers attached to the hind leg of cows throughout the study period. 40 Data were analyzed using a mixed model in SAS including fixed effects of treatment (sleep 41 deprivation vs. sleep and lying deprivation), day, and their interaction with significant main 42 effects separated using a PDIFF statement (P ≤ 0.05). Interactions between treatment and day 43 were detected for daily lying time and the number of bouts. Lying time was lower for both 44 treatments during the treatment period compared to baseline. Lying time increased during the 45 recovery period for both lying and sleep deprived cows. However, it took 4 d for the lying 46 deprived cows to fully recover their lying time after treatment, whereas it took the sleep deprived 47 cows 2 d for their lying time to return to baseline levels. Results suggest that both sleep and lying 48 deprivation can have impact cow behavior. Management factors that limit freestall access likely 49 reduce lying time and sleep, causing negative welfare implications for dairy cows.50 3 51 52 53 Lying time is critical for biological function for dairy cows, however, there are various 54 factors on-farm that reduce a cow's ability to lie down or influence how she uses her lying space. 55 Management factors such as overstocking (Krawczel et al., 2012) or heat stress (Cook et al., 56 2007) decrease lying time, either by reducing access to lying spaces or altering the cow's 57 motivation to lie down. Additionally, facility factors such as bedding type (Fregonesi et al., 58 2007a) and stall design (Fregonesi et al., 2009), can influence how a cow uses a lying stall. The 59 impact of facility design on lying time has been well-studied, but less is known about the quality 60 of rest cows are able to maintain while lying down. A measurement of rest quality in cattle and 61 other species is sleep, but very little research has assessed sleep in dairy cattle. 62 Within their time budget, dairy cows lie down between 11 and 13 h/d in confinement 63 housing systems (Tucker and Weary, 2004, Jensen et al., 2005, It...

A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare

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Anthropogenic suffering of farmed animals: the other side of zoonoses

“…Psychological distress in the form of anxiety, fear, boredom, frustration or other mental states may lead to abnormal behaviour with deleterious results. One major and frequent source of psychological suffering is severe confinement, which prevents the expression of natural behaviours, some of which are powerful motivators (Moberg 2000, HSUS 2011, Mason et al 2001Shields & Greger 2013;Kumar et al 2019;Kull et al 2019;Mee & Boyle 2020). Confinement can also cause physical suffering when animals are unable to assume a comfortable position or are subjected to prolonged inappropriate mechanical pressure to sensitive body sites.…”

The Happy Healthy Cow

“…I think that, for example, sleeping would be behaviour to measure with sensors in future, relevant for determining health and well-being. Even though cows sleep only short periods, from other animals the importance of sufficient sleep is known, and a recent study showed comparable results in cows (Kull et al, 2019). A combination of data from more sensors at the same time (bolus and leg/or neck) could possibly make it easier to monitor sleep behaviour of cows.…”