Housing tiestall dairy cows in deep-bedded pens during an 8-week dry period: Effects on lying time, lying postures, and rising and lying-down behaviors

摘要

Dairy cow lying behavior is useful in determining thecow’s level of welfare, as well as in determining howher environment may affect her comfort and ease ofmovement. In tiestall systems, cows usually remain ina stall for the duration of their lactation. The dry periodoffers a unique opportunity to provide alternativehousing to the cow with minimal effects on farm housingand management. Our objective was to determinewhether housing tiestall cows in deep-bedded pens overan 8-wk dry period altered lying time, lying and risingability, or lying postures. At dry-off, 20 cows, pairedby parity and calving date, were randomly assignedto a deep-bedded loose pen (LP) or a tiestall (TS).Leg-mounted pedometers measured lying time. Risingand lying ability were measured using 6 events of risingand lying from 24-h video recordings taken oncea week per cow. Sequenced images (1/min) from the24-h recordings were used to document lying posturesand locations for each cow. Data were analyzed for theearly (first week of dry-off), mid, and late (week beforecalving) terms of the dry period. Lying time did notdiffer between LP and TS but was numerically higherfor LP than TS cows (14.4 vs. 13.0 h/d, respectively).Contact with stall or pen confines when lying down was5 times higher in TS than LP. The increased contact,coupled with a higher occurrence of hindquarter shiftingin the late term, led to higher overall abnormallying behaviors in TS. Contact with the stall uponrising increased in the late term for TS cows. Cowshoused in loose pens also exhibited greater variation inhind-leg postures, keeping legs tucked 20% less often infavor of alternative postures. Stall hardware (e.g., tierail, dividers) may have affected the ease of transitionbetween lying and standing, leading to higher levels ofcontact with the stall. Loose-pen cows are able to assumemore postures than TS cows when provided morespace, possibly allowing them to orient themselves inways that provide greater comfort. Lying surface in thedeep-bedded loose pen may ease the cow’s lying-downand rising movements and lead to the higher lying timefound with LP cows. Overall, aspects of the stall largelycontributed to differences in lying behaviors, warrantingfurther study into whether freestall systems wouldyield similar outcomes. Improving our concept of easeof movement related to lying and quality of rest in dairycows, through evaluating lying behaviors in differenthousing systems, allows for better recommendations onviable alternative housing options.