Relationship between herd size and measures of animal welfare on dairy cattle farms with freestall housing in Germany

Journal of Dairy Science
Daniel GiesekeM Gauly

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the association of herd size with animal welfare in dairy cattle herds. Therefore, 80 conventional dairy cattle farms were classified by the number of cows into 4 herd size classes, C1 (<100 cows), C2 (100-299 cows), C3 (300-499 cows), and C4 (≥500 cows), and assessed using multiple animal-based measures of the Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for dairy cattle. Data were recorded from April 2014 to September 2016 by an experienced single assessor in northern Germany. Each farm was visited 2 times at an interval of 6 mo (summer period and winter period) to avoid seasonal effects on the outcome. The average herd size was 383 ± 356 Holstein-Friesian cows (range 45 to 1,629). Only farms with freestall (cubicle) housing and a maximum of 6 h access to pasture per day were included in the study. Data were statistically analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model. None of the farms reached the highest overall rating of "excellent." The majority of the farms were classified as "enhanced" (30%) or "acceptable" (66%), and at 6 assessments the farms were rated as "not classified" (4%). Regarding single indicators, mean trough length per cow, percentage of cows with nasal discharge, and vulv...Continue Reading

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Citations

Mar 29, 2019·Animal : an International Journal of Animal Bioscience·L ArmbrechtM Gauly
Mar 10, 2020·Journal of Dairy Science·Annabelle BeaverMarina A G von Keyserlingk
Jun 4, 2020·BMC Veterinary Research·Triin RilantoKerli Mõtus
Dec 19, 2020·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Jennifer Salau, Joachim Krieter
Apr 4, 2021·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Nguyen N BangDavid M McNeill
Jun 3, 2021·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Angela BergschmidtJan Brinkmann
Jul 11, 2021·Animal : an International Journal of Animal Bioscience·K WagnerS March
Jul 17, 2021·Animal : an International Journal of Animal Bioscience·J H BrittJ S Stevenson
Jan 8, 2022·Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science : JAAWS·Snežana PaskašZsolt Becskei

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