Free-choice pasture access for dry cows: Effects on health, behavior, and milk production

Leso, Lorenzo; Andrade, Rafaella Resende; Bambi, Gianluca; Becciolini, Valentina; Barbari, Matteo

doi:10.3168/jds.2022-23107

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…permanent (year-round) as opposed to periodic tethering of cows) (Regula et al, 2004;Popescu et al, 2013;Bernhard et al, 2020) Inappropriate stall dimensions (Bouffard et al, 2017) Inappropriate lying surface (Bernhard et al, 2020) Inappropriate characteristics of tethering (e.g. length of neck chain) (Bouffard et al, 2017) (Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001;Molina et al, 2020) and a reduced risk of impaired udder health (Peeler et al, 2000;Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001;Leso et al, 2019).…”

Section: Hazards Of Reduced Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Clean animals (Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001;de Boyer des Roches et al, 2014;Molina et al, 2020) Improved udder health (Peeler et al, 2000;Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001;Leso et al, 2019)…”

Section: Strengthsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cows will prioritise lying behaviour when an area of pasture is used as a loafing area (Langford et al, 2021). (Borchers, 2018;Eckelkamp et al, 2014;Endres and Barberg, 2007;Ouweltjes and Smolders, 2014) Improved claw health and locomotion (Lobeck et al, 2011;Ofner-Schr öck et al, 2015;Burgstaller et al, 2016;Borchers, 2018) Improved leg and joint health (Fulwider et al, 2007;Klaas et al, 2010;Lobeck et al, 2011) Weaknesses Increased risk of dirty animals (review in Leso et al, 2020) Increased risk of impaired udder health (Leso et al, 2019) Hazards of reduced welfare…”

Section: Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Welfare of dairy cows

Nielsen¹,

Álvarez²,

Bicout³

et al. 2023

EFS2

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This Scientific Opinion addresses a European Commission's mandate on the welfare of dairy cows as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. It includes three assessments carried out based on literature reviews and complemented by expert opinion. Assessment 1 describes the most prevalent housing systems for dairy cows in Europe: tie-stalls, cubicle housing, open-bedded systems and systems with access to an outdoor area. Per each system, the scientific opinion describes the distribution in the EU and assesses the main strengths, weaknesses and hazards potentially reducing the welfare of dairy cows. Assessment 2 addresses five welfare consequences as requested in the mandate: locomotory disorders (including lameness), mastitis, restriction of movement and resting problems, inability to perform comfort behaviour and metabolic disorders. Per each welfare consequence, a set of animal-based measures is suggested, a detailed analysis of the prevalence in different housing systems is provided, and subsequently, a comparison of the housing systems is given. Common and specific system-related hazards as well as management-related hazards and respective preventive measures are investigated. Assessment 3 includes an analysis of farm characteristics (e.g. milk yield, herd size) that could be used to classify the level of on-farm welfare. From the available scientific literature, it was not possible to derive relevant associations between available farm data and cow welfare. Therefore, an approach based on expert knowledge elicitation (EKE) was developed. The EKE resulted in the identification of five farm characteristics (more than one cow per cubicle at maximum stocking density, limited space for cows, inappropriate cubicle size, high on-farm mortality and farms with less than 2 months access to pasture). If one or more of these farm characteristics are present, it is recommended to conduct an assessment of cow welfare on the farm in question using animal-based measures for specified welfare consequences.

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Section: Hazards Of Reduced Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Clean animals (Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001;de Boyer des Roches et al, 2014;Molina et al, 2020) Improved udder health (Peeler et al, 2000;Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001;Leso et al, 2019)…”

Section: Strengthsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Welfare of dairy cows

Nielsen¹,

Álvarez²,

Bicout³

et al. 2023

EFS2

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Assessment of Production Technologies on Dairy Farms in Terms of Animal Welfare

Gaworski,

Kic

2024

Applied Sciences

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Dairy production on farms is based on properly selected technologies implemented in various areas of the barn and outside the livestock buildings. These technologies are subject to assessment, for example, to determine the possibilities of their further improvement in the given production conditions of the farm. When assessing dairy production technology on a farm, human interests are taken into account, including workload, time and access to modern tools supporting the control of production processes. The aim of this review is to identify and discuss factors in dairy production technologies that may affect the welfare of dairy cattle. The considerations indicate that in the technologies of cow feeding, watering and housing, the priority is to improve the technology in terms of ensuring the comfort of animals using feed, water and a place to rest. However, in the case of the assessment of milking automation, the key importance of increasing human comfort was indicated, taking into account the comfort of cows, which is an additional factor justifying the implementation of technical progress in milking. The assessment of various dairy production technologies on farms is an excellent opportunity to develop discussions on the place of dairy cattle welfare in the sustainable development of farms and the priorities set for improving dairy production.

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Free-choice pasture access for dry cows: Effects on health, behavior, and milk production

Cited by 2 publications

References 32 publications

Welfare of dairy cows

Welfare of dairy cows

Assessment of Production Technologies on Dairy Farms in Terms of Animal Welfare

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