Danieli Beatriz, de Vitt Maksuel Gatto, Schogor Ana Luiza Bachmann, Zotti Maria Luísa Appendino Nunes, Ferraz Patrícia Ferreira Ponciano, Zampar Aline
Graduate Program in Animal Science, Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Chapecó 89815-630, Brazil.
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras 37200-000, Brazil.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Nov 21;14(23):3350. doi: 10.3390/ani14233350.
There is currently no established information for assessing the general welfare conditions and behavior of dairy cows housed in compost-bedded pack barns (CBPs) that allow access to pasture. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate and classify the welfare and behavior of dairy cows in three different housing conditions within CBPs in southern Brazil. During both the cold and hot seasons, nine farms were divided into three groups: CONV (conventional, large, full-time barns), ADAP (conventionally adapted, full-time barns), and PART (part-time barns). The European Welfare Quality (WQ) protocol takes into account the characteristics of the animals, animal housing, and farm management to set an overall score to assess animal welfare, which is why WQ was used in this study. Daytime behavior was monitored over a period of four consecutive hours on two days. The 29 WQ measures were grouped into 11 criteria, then into four principles, and finally into the general welfare category. The experimental design employed was a randomized block design in a 2 × 3 factorial scheme (two climatic seasons and three groups), with the means of the measures, principles, and criteria for each group, season, and interaction (group × season) compared using the Tukey test. The diurnal behavior of the cows was described by the average absolute frequency of each observed behavioral measure. There were no differences among the groups in any of the measures assessed by the WQ protocol. However, there was a significant increase in both the incidence of diarrhea and the duration of lying down during the cold season. Only the principle of appropriate behavior varied among the groups, with the PART group demonstrating superior scores. Regardless of the season, the welfare of dairy cows maintained in CBPs was classified as "improved". No abnormalities in behavior were observed among cows housed in the different groups or seasons. Cows in the PART group laid down less frequently during the hot season. Overall, the CBP system provided favorable welfare and behavioral conditions for cows in Brazil, and access to grazing further enhanced the welfare of animals housed in the PART group.
目前，对于饲养在可进入牧场的堆肥垫料牛舍（CBP）中的奶牛的总体福利状况和行为，尚无既定的评估信息。因此，本研究的目的是评估和分类巴西南部CBP中三种不同饲养条件下奶牛的福利和行为。在寒冷和炎热季节，九个农场被分为三组：CONV（传统的、大型的、全职牛舍）、ADAP（传统改良的、全职牛舍）和PART（兼职牛舍）。欧洲福利质量（WQ）协议考虑了动物的特征、动物饲养和农场管理，以设定一个总体分数来评估动物福利，这就是本研究使用WQ的原因。在两天内连续四个小时监测白天的行为。29项WQ指标被分为11个标准，然后分为四个原则，最后分为总体福利类别。所采用的实验设计是2×3析因方案的随机区组设计（两个气候季节和三组），使用Tukey检验比较每组、每个季节以及交互作用（组×季节）的指标、原则和标准的均值。奶牛的昼夜行为通过每个观察到的行为指标的平均绝对频率来描述。WQ协议评估的任何指标在各组之间均无差异。然而，在寒冷季节，腹泻发生率和躺卧时间均显著增加。只有适当行为原则在各组之间有所不同，PART组得分更高。无论季节如何，饲养在CBP中的奶牛的福利被分类为“改善”。在不同组或季节饲养的奶牛中未观察到行为异常。PART组的奶牛在炎热季节躺卧频率较低。总体而言，CBP系统为巴西的奶牛提供了良好的福利和行为条件，而放牧机会进一步提高了PART组饲养动物的福利。
