Welchen Einfluss hat der Weidegang auf das Tierwohl vonudMilchkühen? Erste Ergebnisse des Welfare Quality® Protokollsudbei ganzjähriger Stallhaltung und Sommerweidegang

摘要

Grazing provides livestock better opportunities to act out their species specific behaviour compared to the restrictive stable conditions. Studies on the effect of grazing on animal welfare in dairy farming in Germany are rare and have not been conducted under the specific conditions of organic dairy farming. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of grazing on animal welfare of dairy cows inudorganic and conventional farming based on the Welfare Quality® protocol for dairy cattle. In this paper, we present the initial evaluation of a comparison between zeroudgrazing and summer grazing. The first results indicate an improvement in most welfare principles during the summer months for dairy cows with summer grazing, except forudbetween winter and summer in zero grazing farms. In conclusion, grazing offers a great potential for improved animal welfare, while the benefitial effects of grazing areudnot guaranteed in event of suboptimal management.