Development of scoring systems for abnormal rising and lying down by dairy cattle, and their relationship with other welfare outcome measures

摘要

The objective of this study was to develop two scoring systems to measure the extent of abnormal rising and lying-down behaviors in dairy cows, and to assess the relationship of the behaviors with other welfare outcome measures. Forty-eight lactating Holstein cows were randomly selected in a tie-stall house and enrolled over 2 replicates. Each replicate was video recorded for 24 h, once per week for 10 consecutive weeks. In weeks 1, 2, and 3 of replicate 1, all rising and lying-down events were identified from the video recordings by a single trained observer. Behaviors recorded while rising included duration of rising (sec), attempts at rising, presence (1) or absence (0) of contact with environment, backward movement on carpal joints, delayed rising, and horse rising. Behaviors recorded while lying-down were duration of intention movements (sec), duration of lying-down (sec), attempts at lying-down, presence (1) or absence (0) of contact with environment, hindquarters shifting, slipping, and dog-sitting. An event classifier was also used to categorize each rising and lying-down event as normal (0) or abnormal (1) based on the presence of at least one abnormal behavior. Averaging scores for each behavior and event classifier from 4 daytime events and 2 night-time events was sufficient to yield a strong correlation with full 24 h averages for each behavior and event classifier (r(s) >= 0.82). Three independent observers were trained to score all behaviors and the event classifier with high repeatability (>= 0.80 kappa). The observers were each assigned a portion of weeks 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10 of replicates 1 and 2 to score the daily percentage occurrence of each behavior and event classifier using the outlined regime. Lameness status and injury were also assessed live by trained observers, and lying time was automatically recorded in weeks 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10 of replicates 1 and 2. Multivariate mixed models were used to assess the association of each behavior with other measures, including of welfare. A subset of the behaviors was positively associated with injury severity and body size, and negatively associated with lying time (P <= 0.05). Both scoring systems were highly repeatable tools for assessing the extent of abnormal rising and lying-down behaviors in dairy cows, and were associated with other welfare outcomes indicative of cow comfort.