van Erp-van der Kooij Elaine, Almalik Osama, Cavestany Daniel, Roelofs Judith, van Eerdenburg Frank
Department of Applied Biology, HAS University of Applied Sciences, PO Box 90108, 5200 MA 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, University of the Republic, 18 de Julio 1824, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Apr 21;9(4):183. doi: 10.3390/ani9040183.
Cows housed indoors with cubicles are probably more restricted in their choice of lying posture and orientation compared with cows housed on pasture. We therefore compared lying postures on pasture in Uruguay and the Netherlands with lying postures in cubicles in the Netherlands, also recording orientation on pasture in Uruguay and divider and bedding type in Dutch cubicles. We visited one farm with four herds in Uruguay, doing live observations, and 25 Dutch farms, taking pictures of cows. Observations of 205 cows on pasture in Uruguay showed more long postures, lying on their belly with their neck stretched. Two herds preferred lying towards north and south, while one herd preferred west and east. Pictures of 217 cows on pasture in the Netherlands showed more wide postures (lying on the side with three or four legs stretched out). Pictures of 527 cows in cubicles in the Netherlands showed more narrow postures (lying on the side with hind legs folded). More long postures (lying on the belly with a stretched neck) and less short postures (lying with the head folded back) were seen in cubicles with soft floors and English dividers; more narrow postures were seen in cubicles with concrete floors. Wide postures were seen more in cubicles with mattresses and free-hanging dividers. We conclude that since cows in cubicles show more narrow postures than on pasture and cannot choose their orientation, their choice in showing preferred behavior is restricted. More research is needed to study the consequences of restricted choice in lying behavior on the health and welfare of dairy cows.
与在牧场饲养的奶牛相比，在室内隔间饲养的奶牛在躺卧姿势和方向的选择上可能受到更多限制。因此，我们将乌拉圭和荷兰牧场的躺卧姿势与荷兰隔间的躺卧姿势进行了比较，还记录了乌拉圭牧场的躺卧方向以及荷兰隔间的分隔物和垫料类型。我们走访了乌拉圭的一个有四个牛群的农场进行现场观察，并走访了25个荷兰农场，拍摄奶牛的照片。对乌拉圭牧场205头奶牛的观察显示，更多的是长姿势，即腹部着地、颈部伸展躺着。其中两个牛群更喜欢朝北和朝南躺卧，而另一个牛群更喜欢朝西和朝东躺卧。荷兰牧场217头奶牛的照片显示，更多的是宽姿势（侧身躺着，三四条腿伸展）。荷兰隔间527头奶牛的照片显示，更多的是窄姿势（侧身躺着，后腿折叠）。在地板柔软且有英式分隔物的隔间里，能看到更多的长姿势（腹部着地、颈部伸展躺着）和更少的短姿势（头部向后折叠躺着）；在混凝土地板的隔间里，能看到更多的窄姿势。在有床垫和自由悬挂式分隔物的隔间里，宽姿势更为常见。我们得出结论，由于隔间里的奶牛比在牧场时表现出更多的窄姿势，且无法选择躺卧方向，它们表现出偏好行为的选择受到了限制。需要更多的研究来探讨躺卧行为选择受限对奶牛健康和福利的影响。
