Reyes Faith S, Gimenez Amanda R, Anderson Kaylee M, Miller-Cushon Emily K, Dorea Joao R, Van Os Jennifer M C
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Apr 8;12(8):972. doi: 10.3390/ani12080972.
Our objectives were to evaluate the effect of stationary brush quantity on brush use and competition in weaned dairy heifers naïve to brushes. Sixty-three Holstein heifers (95 ± 5.7 days old) were housed in groups of eight (with the exception of 1 group of 7) with two or four stationary brushes ( = 4 groups/treatment). Brush-directed behaviors of grooming, oral manipulation, and displacements were recorded continuously for all heifers 0-6, 18-24, 120-126 and 138-144 h after brush exposure. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the effects of brush quantity and exposure duration. Total brush use and competition were not affected by brush quantity, but heifers with access to more brushes used them for longer bouts, suggesting greater opportunity for uninterrupted use. Total brush use was greater in the first and final 6 h observation periods, which was driven by the greatest duration of oral manipulation and grooming in those respective periods. The continued use of brushes by all heifers in the final period indicates the importance of providing appropriate outlets for these natural behaviors to promote animal welfare. The effect of brush quantity on bout characteristics suggests that brush use was less restricted with four compared to two brushes per eight heifers.
我们的目标是评估固定刷子数量对初次接触刷子的断奶奶牛小母牛使用刷子及竞争行为的影响。63头荷斯坦小母牛（95±5.7日龄）被分成每组8头（有一组为7头）的组，每组配备两把或四把固定刷子（每种处理4组）。在所有小母牛接触刷子后的0 - 6小时、18 - 24小时、120 - 126小时和138 - 144小时，持续记录其梳理、口腔操作和推挤等针对刷子的行为。使用线性混合模型评估刷子数量和接触持续时间的影响。总刷子使用量和竞争行为不受刷子数量影响，但能接触到更多刷子的小母牛使用刷子的时间更长，这表明不间断使用的机会更大。在最初和最后的6小时观察期内，总刷子使用量更大，这是由相应时期内口腔操作和梳理的最长持续时间所驱动的。所有小母牛在最后阶段持续使用刷子，这表明为这些自然行为提供适当的发泄途径对于促进动物福利的重要性。刷子数量对单次使用特征的影响表明，每8头小母牛配备4把刷子时，刷子使用受到的限制比配备2把刷子时少。
