Brasier J E, Schwanke A J, Bergeron R, Haley D B, DeVries T J
Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
J Dairy Sci. 2025 Jan;108(1):885-899. doi: 10.3168/jds.2024-25420. Epub 2024 Oct 9.
Training dairy cows on the automated milking system (AMS) can improve their performance; however, the ideal training method and how a cow's individual personality relates to training is unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the effect of AMS training method on adaptation of primiparous cows to an AMS, (2) whether the personality of a cow affects adaptation to the AMS, and (3) whether certain personality types adapt better based on the type of training they receive. Forty-eight primiparous Holstein dairy cows that had not previously been milked by an AMS, were enrolled in the study at ∼85 DIM and were assessed for personality traits using a combined arena test comprised of 3 parts: a novel arena test, a novel object test, and a novel human test. Cows were allocated into 1 of 4 AMS training treatments (n = 12): control (CON; no training), environment exposure only (ENV), environment and AMS concentrate provision (PEL), and environment and mechanics exposure (MEC). Cows in the ENV, PEL, and MEC treatments were subjected to training 4 times a day for 4 d, and then cows from all 4 treatments were milked on the AMS in the evening of the fourth training day. Milking activity and production were recorded for the first 14 d on the AMS. The PEL cows had fewer visits to the AMS, fewer milkings, and fewer voluntary milkings compared with CON cows across the 14 d. Cows on all experimental treatments had more fetching events than CON cows, and MEC and ENV treatment cows had a higher milk yield compared with those on the CON treatment. Principal component analysis of the behaviors recorded during the personality assessment revealed 2 factors interpreted as personality traits, "explore-active" and "bold." Across all cows, more "explore-active" cows had greater milk yield. Only the performance of ENV cows was associated with personality; ENV cows who scored low for "explore-active" differed from CON cows, through increased visits and voluntary milkings. Overall, the results demonstrate that providing concentrate on its own during AMS training may not be motivating enough to improve adaptation and performance. However, exposing cows to the mechanics (e.g., the robotic arm and sounds of the AMS) before first milking may improve milk yield. Finally, cow personality may influence the performance of cows trained using less complicated training methods, such as only exposing them to the environment of the AMS.
对奶牛进行自动挤奶系统（AMS）培训可以提高它们的生产性能；然而，理想的培训方法以及奶牛的个性如何与培训相关尚不清楚。本研究的目的是确定：（1）AMS培训方法对初产奶牛适应AMS的影响；（2）奶牛的个性是否会影响其对AMS的适应；（3）某些个性类型的奶牛是否会根据所接受的培训类型而表现出更好的适应性。48头之前未使用过AMS挤奶的初产荷斯坦奶牛在约85日龄时被纳入研究，并使用由三部分组成的综合竞技场测试评估其个性特征：新竞技场测试、新物体测试和新人测试。奶牛被分配到4种AMS培训处理中的一种（n = 12）：对照（CON；不培训）、仅环境暴露（ENV）、环境和AMS浓缩物供应（PEL）以及环境和机械暴露（MEC）。ENV、PEL和MEC处理组的奶牛每天接受4次培训，共培训4天，然后在第四次培训日的晚上，对所有4个处理组的奶牛进行AMS挤奶。在AMS上记录前14天的挤奶活动和产量。在整个14天期间，与CON组奶牛相比，PEL组奶牛对AMS的访问次数、挤奶次数和自主挤奶次数更少。所有实验处理组的奶牛的取奶事件都比CON组奶牛多，并且MEC和ENV处理组奶牛的产奶量高于CON处理组。对个性评估期间记录的行为进行主成分分析，揭示了两个被解释为个性特征的因素，即“探索 - 活跃”和“大胆”。在所有奶牛中，“探索 - 活跃”程度较高的奶牛产奶量更高。只有ENV组奶牛的表现与个性相关；“探索 - 活跃”得分较低的ENV组奶牛与CON组奶牛不同，其访问次数和自主挤奶次数增加。总体而言，结果表明在AMS培训期间仅提供浓缩物可能不足以激发奶牛提高适应性和生产性能。然而，在首次挤奶前让奶牛接触机械（例如，AMS的机械臂和声音）可能会提高产奶量。最后，奶牛的个性可能会影响使用不太复杂的培训方法（例如仅让它们接触AMS环境）进行培训的奶牛的生产性能。
