Agger J F, Alban L
Department of Animal Science and Animal Health, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Acta Vet Scand. 1996;37(1):79-97. doi: 10.1186/BF03548121.
This paper presents the third part of descriptive results of questionnaire surveys in 152 Danish dairy herds in 1983 and in 2148 dairy herds in 1994. Focus is on working routines related to health management and the close environment of the cows. The variables are grouped in 6 categories as man power, bedding, water supply, manure handling, health management routines, and the farmers' age and their opinion about health and welfare of the dairy cows. The results show that the husbands did the major parts of the job in the herds. Permanent laborers were mainly hired in cubicle and deep bed farms, while it was more common to hire a relief man (short term basis) in tie stall herds-i.e. in the generally smaller herds. The average time spent on milking and feeding per cow per day ranged from 5.2 min in cubicle houses and 5.4 min in deep bed houses to 9.9 min in tie stall houses. The time per cow per day seemed to have been reduced by approximately 43% during the 11 year period. Straw was the primary choice of bedding, and the use varied much among the herds. In tie stall houses with open dung channel and concrete floor the daily average use of straw was 1.74 kg per cow. Only 37.0% of the farmers used bedding for the heifers. Water supply seemed to be well installed in all houses, and dung removal was highly automated. Apart from milking and feeding times the farmers looked after the cows on average twice a day. The farmers primarily looked for cows in heat, signs of disease, calving, and abnormal lying and raising patterns. At night 87.7% of tie stall farmers and 80.8% of cubicle house farmers were likely to check the cows, particularly with respect to calving. In deep bed systems only 58.5% would check the cows at night. Contrary to this, farmers looked after pastured heifers less frequently. Farmers were generally concerned that the cows had a dry period. The average length stated was 6.6 weeks. Farmers were generally satisfied with the health and welfare of the cows. The answers also indicated that farmers differentiated between the 2 concepts, as the correlation between welfare and health was only r = 0.34 (p < 0.001).
本文呈现了1983年对152个丹麦奶牛场以及1994年对2148个丹麦奶牛场进行问卷调查的描述性结果的第三部分。重点关注与健康管理及奶牛周边环境相关的工作流程。变量分为六类，即人力、垫料、供水、粪便处理、健康管理流程，以及农民的年龄和他们对奶牛健康与福利的看法。结果显示，牛群中的主要工作由丈夫承担。长期雇工主要受雇于隔栏式和厚垫草式牛场，而在拴系牛舍（即通常规模较小的牛场）更常见的是雇佣临时工（短期）。每头奶牛每天用于挤奶和喂食的平均时间从隔栏式牛舍的5.2分钟、厚垫草式牛舍的5.4分钟到拴系牛舍的9.9分钟不等。在这11年期间，每头奶牛每天的用时似乎减少了约43%。稻草是垫料的主要选择，且各牛场用量差异很大。在有开放式粪沟和水泥地面的拴系牛舍中，每头奶牛每天稻草的平均用量为1.74千克。只有37.0%的农民给小母牛使用垫料。所有牛舍的供水似乎都安装良好，粪便清理高度自动化。除了挤奶和喂食时间，农民平均每天照看奶牛两次。农民主要留意奶牛是否发情、是否有疾病迹象、是否产犊以及躺卧和起身模式是否异常。晚上，87.7%的拴系牛舍农民和80.8%的隔栏式牛舍农民可能会查看奶牛，尤其是查看产犊情况。在厚垫草式牛场，只有58.5%的农民会在晚上查看奶牛。与此相反，农民照看放牧小母牛的频率较低。农民普遍关心奶牛的干奶期。所述的平均时长为6.6周。农民总体上对奶牛的健康和福利感到满意。答案还表明农民区分了这两个概念，因为福利与健康之间的相关性仅为r = 0.34（p < 0.001）。
