On-farm welfare assessment in dairy cattle and buffaloes: evaluation of some animal-based parameters

Abstract

<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">The aim of this study was to evaluate the repeatability of some animal related variables, which could be used in proto-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">cols developed for assessing animal welfare at farm level. Recordings were performed in seven dairy farms (four for cat-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">tle and three for buffaloes). The animals were observed on three occasions at three-week intervals. The variables col-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">lected for each animal were the following: behaviour during milking (stepping and kicking), avoidance distance, lame-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">ness and cleanliness. For each farm and each variable repeatability was computed using the Kendall coefficient of con-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">cordance (W). In buffalo farms avoidance distance may be considered highly reliable (W > 0.64), whereas in dairy cat-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">tle its reliability ranged from medium (W = 0.43 to 0.59) to high (W = 0.64). Behavioural recordings at milking showed<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">that the reliability of stepping was either medium or high for both buffaloes and cattle (W = 0.51 to 0.66 and W = 0.52<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">to 0.76 for buffaloes and cattle, respectively). Conversely, kicking was less reliable. In cattle farms the reliability for<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">cleanliness ranged from medium (W = 0.51) to high (W = 0.62 to 0.71), whereas, it was not reliable in the sole buffalo<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">farm where this variable was monitored. In cattle farms, the concordance for lameness score was high in two farms (W<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">= 0.62 and 0.66) and moderate in one farm (W = 0.43), whereas no animals displayed lameness in the fourth farm. In<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.0px Verdana;">all buffalo farms no animals showed lameness. For each species, the Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance with one factor<span style="fo...

The behaviour and welfare of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in modern dairy enterprises

“…According to Waiblinger et al (2002), avoidance distance more appropriately reflects the human-animal relationship from the animal's perspective than other tests. In buffaloes, this variable measured in the pen proved to be able to detect differences in the quality of human-animal relationship among farms as well as to be reliable in terms of short-term consistency (Napolitano et al, 2005). Data from farms where both dairy cattle and buffaloes were present (Napolitano et al, 2005) showed that avoidance distance measured in the pen is lower in buffaloes than in cattle (64 v. 242 cm).…”

“…In buffaloes, this variable measured in the pen proved to be able to detect differences in the quality of human-animal relationship among farms as well as to be reliable in terms of short-term consistency (Napolitano et al, 2005). Data from farms where both dairy cattle and buffaloes were present (Napolitano et al, 2005) showed that avoidance distance measured in the pen is lower in buffaloes than in cattle (64 v. 242 cm). Buffaloes also show avoidance distances in the pen similar to goats (68 cm) (Mattiello et al, 2010) and lower than sheep (238 cm) .…”

“…Temperament and style of interaction with the environment Buffaloes have been reported to be more curious than cattle (Napolitano et al, 2005). When exposed to environmental challenges, such as isolation and novel environment, they exhibit increased vocalisation, exploration and locomotion.…”

Influence of Age, Gender and Sire Line on Young Cattle Behaviour Traits

“…Heifer calves born on a dairy farm are mostly reared for potential cow replacements rather than for meat. Heifers grow to a smaller mature size than bulls, they also mature earlier [22,30,48]. Healthy, productive herd replacements are the result of good management from birth until the cow enters the milking herd.…”

Dairy Cattle Welfare Status Measured by Animal-Linked Parameters Under Tunisian Rearing Conditions

“…Hristov et al (2008) reported that there is major public demand for improvements in animal welfare, housing conditions and health aspects. The assessment of welfare at farm level can be used as an advisory tool by farmers, as source of information for legislation and as a component of quality assurance schemes for consumers (Napolitano et al, 2005;Webster, 2005;Vučinić, 2006). Welfare is multidimensional and it cannot be measured directly, rather it is inferred from external parameters.…”