Browsing by Subject "lying behavior"

Herd sizes have grown in Europe which has decreased pasture access. Farmers see pasture as hard to implement, but there are alternative ways to provide outdoor access. Pasture access has many benefits for dairy cows welfare and some benefits can be achieved with alternative outdoor areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two outdoor management systems on the lying behavior, injuries, hygiene, and locomotion of lactating dairy cows. This study was conducted at the University of Helsinki Viikki research freestall barn with adjacent pastureland in Finland. The experimental model was 3 x 3 Latin square within 21-day periods. Twenty-seven primi- and multiparous Nordic red cows was divided into 9 squares based on parity, milk production and locomotion score. Cows were assigned to the treatments which were: 1) partial outdoor access with grazeable forage (pasture), 2) partial outdoor access with no grazeable forages (outdoor paddock), and 3) indoor confinement (control). Cows spent more time standing than lying on pasture and paddock. Cows spent 32% of their time lying on paddock and 40% lying on pasture. There was no difference on locomotion or injuries among treatments. However, hock injuries occurred more than knee injuries. There was no difference between hygiene among treatments. However, flank hygiene tended to be dirtiest when housed indoor. According to this study there are no difference on cows hock and knee injuries and locomotion whether cows are housed in free stall with part-time access to pasture or paddock. This study indicates that cows with part-time access to pasture or outdoor paddock does not improve a suitable indoor environment. Further research on whether longer exposure to each treatment would have an effect is needed.