Department of Livestock Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Food Systems Harare, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Vet Res Commun. 2024 Dec;48(6):4169-4178. doi: 10.1007/s11259-024-10543-5. Epub 2024 Sep 24.
In Zimbabwe a lot of studies have been done on nutrition, breeding, physiology and health of farm cows but with little or no consideration of the impacts of these studies on cow welfare. As a result political importance and practical progression of cow welfare is still lagging behind in the country just like most developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the welfare status of dairy cows from large scale dairy farms through an assessment of risk factors/drivers and indicators of cow welfare. For this study 728 dairy cows from all the 31 large scale dairy farms in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe, were selected for the study noting down risk factors and indicators of dairy cow welfare during both the dry and rainy season. Human avoidance distance test results revealed that 81% of the cows were touched by the approaching stockpeople, whereas 19% could not be touched, and this was significantly associated with breed of the cow (χ = 115, DF = 9, P < 0.0005). From the study 95% of the cows examined were not lame (score 1) and for those that were lame only 0.6% (n = 4) had severely impaired mobility (score 5). Whereas 30% of the cows observed during the rainy season were heavily soiled with manure (score 4), only 1% of the cows observed during the dry season were heavily soiled (score 4). Cow cleanliness was significantly associated with manure accumulation in housing and handling facilities in both study 1 (χ = 18, DF = 6, P = 0.006) and study 2 (χ = 47, DF = 6, P < 0.001). The average body condition score of observed dairy cows from both study 1 and study 2 was fair (BC = 3) and body condition was signficantly associated with the breed of cow in both study 1 (χ = 22, DF = 12, P = 0.039), and study 2 (χ = 38, DF = 12, P < 0.005). Exotic breeds like the Holstein generally faired low when compared to locally adapted breeds like theAyrshire.
在津巴布韦，已经有很多关于农场奶牛的营养、繁殖、生理和健康方面的研究，但几乎没有考虑这些研究对奶牛福利的影响。因此，与大多数发展中国家一样，奶牛福利的政治重要性和实际进展在该国仍然滞后。本研究旨在通过评估奶牛福利的风险因素/驱动因素和指标来评估大型奶牛场奶牛的福利状况。为此，在津巴布韦中部省的 31 个大型奶牛场中，选择了 728 头奶牛进行研究，记录了干季和雨季奶牛福利的风险因素和指标。人为回避距离测试结果表明，81%的奶牛被走近的饲养员触摸，而 19%的奶牛无法被触摸，这与奶牛的品种显著相关（χ=115，DF=9，P<0.0005）。研究中 95%的奶牛没有跛行（评分为 1），只有 0.6%（n=4）的跛行奶牛行动严重受限（评分为 5）。而在雨季，30%的奶牛被粪便严重弄脏（评分为 4），只有 1%的奶牛在旱季被粪便严重弄脏（评分为 4）。奶牛的清洁度与畜舍和处理设施中的粪便堆积显著相关，在研究 1（χ=18，DF=6，P=0.006）和研究 2（χ=47，DF=6，P<0.001）中均如此。来自研究 1 和研究 2 的观察奶牛的平均身体状况评分均为一般（BC=3），身体状况与奶牛的品种显著相关，在研究 1（χ=22，DF=12，P=0.039）和研究 2（χ=38，DF=12，P<0.005）中均如此。与本地适应品种（如 Ayrshire）相比，像荷斯坦这样的外来品种的评分通常较低。
