Sharma Arvind, Kennedy Uttara, Phillips Clive
Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton Campus 4343, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Mar 27;9(4):120. doi: 10.3390/ani9040120.
Measurement of friction of cowshed floors to determine slipperiness potential is important for cow comfort. Existing methods require elaborate equipment and procedures. A quick method for assessment of friction characteristics is proposed. Friction was measured in 54 cattle housing and yard facilities with earth, brick, concrete, and stone floors, and its association with cattle health parameters was investigated through assessment of 30 animals per facility. A 156 g cuboidal wooden block attached to a spring balance was pulled over 3 m, and the coefficient of friction was recorded as the force required to move the block at a constant speed. The coefficient of friction ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 and was lowest for concrete and highest for earth floors. A multivariate analysis found that cows were standing more and could be more easily approached when they were on floors with high friction levels. The proportion of cows with dirty hind limbs declined with increasing friction of the floor, probably reflecting the fact that they felt more confident to stand rather than lie on high friction floors. This simple measure of frictional characteristics of cattle floors offers promise to be included in welfare measures as an indicator of cow welfare.
测量牛舍地面的摩擦力以确定滑倒可能性对奶牛舒适度很重要。现有方法需要精密的设备和程序。本文提出了一种快速评估摩擦特性的方法。在54个有泥土、砖块、混凝土和石质地面的牛舍及院子设施中测量了摩擦力，并通过对每个设施的30头动物进行评估，研究了摩擦力与奶牛健康参数之间的关系。将一个附着在弹簧秤上的156克长方体木块拉动3米，摩擦系数记录为使木块匀速移动所需的力。摩擦系数范围为0.3至0.7，混凝土地面的摩擦系数最低，泥土地面的最高。多变量分析发现，当奶牛站在摩擦系数高的地面上时，站立的时间更多，也更容易接近。随着地面摩擦力的增加，后肢脏污的奶牛比例下降，这可能反映出它们觉得站在高摩擦地面上比躺在上面更有信心。这种对牛舍地面摩擦特性的简单测量有望作为奶牛福利的一个指标纳入福利措施中。
