Matore Z, Woods P, Kagler S
Department of Animal Science, University of Zimbabwe, P. O. Box MP167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2018 Jun;50(5):1059-1064. doi: 10.1007/s11250-018-1530-x. Epub 2018 Feb 12.
Zimbabwe's smallholder dairying faces many challenges that affect the welfare of dairy cows; however, the status of this welfare has not yet been determined. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Midlands Province on 41 active smallholder dairy farms with 86 cows in winter and summer to determine the risk factors and indicators to impaired cow welfare. These objectives were achieved using farmer questionnaires and direct observations. Eleven percent of the observed cows were severely lame in summer while only 5% were severely lame in winter. Lameness was significantly associated with season, absence of shade, breed, and low dipping frequency; 58% of the cows had low body condition scores (BC < 3) and this low BC was associated with low frequency of protein (p = 0.002) and vitamin (p = 0.012) supplementation recorded in more than 52% of the farms visited. In winter, only 11% of the observed cows were heavily soiled (score 3), while in summer 64% of the cows were heavily soiled and this was associated with slurry accumulation in more than 80% of the observed cattle pens as well as the study season (p < 0.001). A quarter (26%) of the studied animals had visible teat lesions on the teat skin and this was associated with the type of lubricant used (p = 0.011). Only 34% of the cows allowed an approaching stockman to touch them and this was associated with shouting (p = 0.012) and whipping of cows (p = 0.002). The study concluded that welfare of dairy cows was poor in most of the smallholder dairy farms studied.
津巴布韦的小农户奶牛养殖面临着许多影响奶牛福利的挑战；然而，这种福利状况尚未得到确定。在中部省对41个活跃的小农户奶牛场进行了一项横断面研究，冬季和夏季分别有86头奶牛，以确定影响奶牛福利受损的风险因素和指标。通过农民问卷调查和直接观察实现了这些目标。观察到的奶牛中有11%在夏季严重跛足，而冬季只有5%严重跛足。跛足与季节、缺乏遮荫、品种和低浸浴频率显著相关；58%的奶牛体况评分较低（BC＜3），这种低体况与超过52%受访农场记录的低蛋白（p = 0.002）和低维生素（p = 0.012）补充频率有关。在冬季，观察到的奶牛中只有11%被严重弄脏（评分3），而在夏季64%的奶牛被严重弄脏，这与超过80%观察到的牛舍中的粪便堆积以及研究季节有关（p＜0.001）。四分之一（26%）的研究动物在乳头皮肤上有可见的乳头病变，这与所使用的润滑剂类型有关（p = 0.011）。只有34%的奶牛允许接近的饲养员触摸它们，这与呼喊（p = 0.012）和鞭打奶牛（p = 0.002）有关。该研究得出结论，在所研究的大多数小农户奶牛场中，奶牛福利较差。
