Wu Bin, Zhang Liyu, Li Guowen, Zhao Chongchong, Hao Weiguang, Yan Peishi, Yang Xingming, Wei Shengjuan
College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Department of Green Development of Animal Husbandry Industry, National Animal Husbandry Station, Beijing 100125, China.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Mar 31;15(7):1009. doi: 10.3390/ani15071009.
Different beddings result in alterations in barn environments and are responsible for changes in heifer behaviors and welfare. In this experiment, twenty-four Holstein heifers were randomly divided into four pens with various beddings, including sawdust (SD), fermented manure and sawdust (FSD), fermented manure and straw (FST), and a fermented manure mixture (FMM) for 31 days. The water content and surface layer temperature of the beddings were measured. We studied the activity budget, diurnal rhythms, and locations in lying and elimination of these heifers by videoing them for three consecutive days in the early and late stages of the experiment. Compared with the three fermented beddings (FSD, FST, and FMM), the SD bedding had a higher surface layer temperature and lower water content ( < 0.05). The SD bedding resulted in significantly less time ruminating ( < 0.01) and more time walking ( < 0.01) for heifers. The heifers in the SD and FMM bedding spent less time lying ( < 0.01) and more time standing ( < 0.01). Heifers in SD and FSD beddings presented lower scores in surface cleanliness rating ( < 0.01). Heifer activities, including eating, drinking, elimination, and lying, showed clear circadian patterns in four groups. Elimination behavior had a significant positive correlation with drinking/eating ( < 0.01). Moreover, similar location distributions in lying and elimination of heifers in various bedding pens were observed. Heifers preferred to eliminate the near eating area and drinking area and keep lying out of the eating region ( < 0.01). These findings could provide a reference for the selection of bedding materials and bedding management in dairy farming.
不同的垫料会导致牛舍环境发生变化，并影响小母牛的行为和福利。在本实验中，24头荷斯坦小母牛被随机分为四组，分别使用不同的垫料，包括锯末（SD）、发酵粪便与锯末（FSD）、发酵粪便与稻草（FST）以及发酵粪便混合物（FMM），实验为期31天。测量了垫料的含水量和表层温度。在实验的早期和后期，通过连续三天对这些小母牛进行录像，研究了它们的活动预算、昼夜节律以及躺卧和排泄的地点。与三种发酵垫料（FSD、FST和FMM）相比，SD垫料的表层温度较高，含水量较低（<0.05）。SD垫料使小母牛的反刍时间显著减少（<0.01），行走时间增加（<0.01）。使用SD和FMM垫料的小母牛躺卧时间较少（<0.01），站立时间较多（<0.01）。使用SD和FSD垫料的小母牛在表面清洁评分上得分较低（<0.01）。四组小母牛的进食、饮水、排泄和躺卧等活动均呈现出明显的昼夜模式。排泄行为与饮水/进食之间存在显著正相关（<0.01）。此外，观察到不同垫料栏中小母牛躺卧和排泄的位置分布相似。小母牛更喜欢在进食区和饮水区附近排泄，并在进食区域外躺卧（<0.01）。这些研究结果可为奶牛养殖中垫料材料的选择和垫料管理提供参考。
