Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
J Dairy Sci. 2012 Dec;95(12):7399-408. doi: 10.3168/jds.2012-5807. Epub 2012 Oct 11.
In this paper, we describe a novel approach to corporate involvement in on-farm assessment, driven by the desire to provide a service for dairy producers and to create a vehicle for engagement on issues of dairy cow welfare. This program provides producers with feedback on animal-based (including gait score, leg injuries, and lying time) and facility-based (including freestall design, bedding practices, feed bunk design and management, and stocking density) measures that can be used to better address their management goals. The aim of this paper is to describe variation in the prevalence of lameness and leg injuries, lying behavior, facility design, and management practices for high-producing cows on freestall dairy farms in 3 regions of North America: British Columbia (BC; n=42); California (CA; n=39); and the northeastern United States (NE-US; n=40). Prevalence of clinical lameness averaged (mean ± SD) 27.9±14.1% in BC, 30.8±15.5% in CA, and 54.8±16.7% in NE-US; prevalence of severe lameness averaged 7.1±5.4% in BC, 3.6±4.2% in CA, and 8.2±5.6% in NE-US. Overall prevalence of hock injuries was 42.3±26.2% in BC, 56.2±21.6% in CA, and 81.2±22.5% in NE-US; prevalence of severe injuries was 3.7±5.2% in BC, 1.8±3.1% in CA, 5.4±5.9% in NE-US. Prevalence of swollen knees was minimal in CA (0.3±0.6%) but high (23.1±16.3%) in NE-US (not scored in BC). Lying times were similar across regions (11.0±0.7h/d in BC, 10.4±0.8h/d in CA, 10.6±0.9h/d in NE-US), but individual lying times among cows assessed varied (4.2 to 19.5h/d, 3.7 to 17.5h/d, and 2.8 to 20.5h/d in BC, CA, and NE-US, respectively). These results showed considerable variation in lameness and leg injury prevalence as well as facility design and management among freestall farms in North America. Each of the 3 regions had farms with a very low prevalence of lameness and injuries, suggesting great opportunities for improvement on other farms within the region.
本文介绍了一种企业参与农场评估的新方法，旨在为奶农提供服务，并为奶牛福利问题的参与创造机会。该计划为生产者提供了基于动物的反馈（包括步态评分、腿部损伤和卧姿时间）和基于设施的反馈（包括限位栏设计、卧床实践、饲料槽设计和管理以及饲养密度），以帮助他们更好地实现管理目标。本文的目的是描述在北美 3 个地区（不列颠哥伦比亚省[BC]；加利福尼亚州[CA]；美国东北部[NE-US]）的自由卧床奶牛场中，高产奶牛跛行和腿部损伤、卧姿、设施设计和管理实践的流行率变化。BC 地区临床跛行的流行率平均（均值±标准差）为 27.9±14.1%，CA 地区为 30.8±15.5%，NE-US 地区为 54.8±16.7%；BC 地区严重跛行的流行率平均为 7.1±5.4%，CA 地区为 3.6±4.2%，NE-US 地区为 8.2±5.6%。BC 地区跗关节损伤的总体流行率为 42.3±26.2%，CA 地区为 56.2±21.6%，NE-US 地区为 81.2±22.5%；BC 地区严重损伤的流行率为 3.7±5.2%，CA 地区为 1.8±3.1%，NE-US 地区为 5.4±5.9%。CA 地区膝关节肿胀的流行率很低（0.3±0.6%），但 NE-US 地区很高（23.1±16.3%）（BC 地区未评分）。BC、CA 和 NE-US 地区奶牛的卧姿时间相似（11.0±0.7h/d、10.4±0.8h/d、10.6±0.9h/d），但评估的奶牛个体卧姿时间存在差异（4.2 至 19.5h/d、3.7 至 17.5h/d 和 2.8 至 20.5h/d）。这些结果表明，北美自由卧床奶牛场的跛行和腿部损伤流行率以及设施设计和管理存在很大差异。这 3 个地区都有跛行和损伤发生率非常低的农场，这表明该地区其他农场有很大的改进空间。
