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Full-Text Articles in Dairy Science

Precision Livestock Farming And Personality As Tools To Understand Dairy Calf Individual Variation In Performance, Behavior, And Response To Stress, Megan Marie Woodrum Setser Jan 2023

Precision Livestock Farming And Personality As Tools To Understand Dairy Calf Individual Variation In Performance, Behavior, And Response To Stress, Megan Marie Woodrum Setser

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Individual differences impact animal responses to their environments and can be observed with animal personality (stable behavioral differences with populations) and food neophobia (avoidance of unfamiliar feeds). These individual differences can influence cattle performance and welfare. Precision technologies, such as automatic feeding systems (AFS) and accelerometers continuously measure feeding behaviors and activity and may allow us to relate individual differences to behaviors in the home environment. Therefore, the first objective was to determine if food neophobia was associated with feeding behaviors measured by AFS. Food neophobia was associated with rewarded visits to the AFS, but to no other feeding behaviors. …


The Effect Of Bedding Surface And Muscid Fly Populations On The Welfare Of Pre Weaned Holstein And Jersey Calves, Christa Anne Kurman May 2014

The Effect Of Bedding Surface And Muscid Fly Populations On The Welfare Of Pre Weaned Holstein And Jersey Calves, Christa Anne Kurman

Masters Theses

The first objective of this study was to determine the effect of bedding on the welfare of Holstein and Jersey calves housed using individual hutches bedded with gravel, rubber mats, or sand. A second objective was to determine the effects of stable and house fly populations on calf welfare. Bedding quality and fly management are aspects of improving animal welfare on dairy farms. It was hypothesized that sand or mat would increase lying time and decrease lying bouts, but not affect BW gain or feed intake in calves indicating that these bedding surfaces increased calf welfare. It was hypothesized that …


Association Between Stall Surface And Some Animal Welfare Measurements In Freestall Dairy Herds Using Recycled Manure Solids For Bedding, A. W. Husfeldt, M. I. Endres Oct 2012

Association Between Stall Surface And Some Animal Welfare Measurements In Freestall Dairy Herds Using Recycled Manure Solids For Bedding, A. W. Husfeldt, M. I. Endres

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between stall surface and some animal welfare measurements in upper Midwest US dairy operations using recycled manure solids as bedding material. The study included 34 dairy operations with herd sizes ranging from 130 to 3,700 lactating cows. Forty-five percent of the herds had mattresses and 55% had deep-bedded stalls. Farms were visited once between July and October 2009. At the time of visit, at least 50% of the cows in each lactating pen were scored for locomotion, hygiene, and hock lesions. On-farm herd records were collected for the …


Prevalence And Risk Factors For Skin Lesions On Legs Of Dairy Cattle Housed In Freestalls In Norway, C. Kielland, L. E. Ruud, A. J. Zanella, O. Østerås Nov 2009

Prevalence And Risk Factors For Skin Lesions On Legs Of Dairy Cattle Housed In Freestalls In Norway, C. Kielland, L. E. Ruud, A. J. Zanella, O. Østerås

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Appropriate indoor housing facilities for dairy cattle promote improved animal welfare. Skin alterations are an indicator of dysfunctional housing. The purpose was to determine the relationship between different housing design and skin lesions, hence providing farmers more insight into how to reduce the occurrence of lesions. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2,335 animals in 232 Norwegian freestall-housed dairy cattle from September 2006 to June 2007. A model was established to investigate risk factors related to the presence of lesions including hair loss, swelling, and wounds on the legs of dairy cattle. Separate models were developed to investigate risk factors …


Assessing Lameness In Cows Kept In Tie-Stalls, K. A. Leach, S. Dippel, J. Huber, S. March, C. Winckler, H. R. Whay Apr 2009

Assessing Lameness In Cows Kept In Tie-Stalls, K. A. Leach, S. Dippel, J. Huber, S. March, C. Winckler, H. R. Whay

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Identifying lame cows and quantifying the prevalence of lameness are important elements of cattle welfare assessment that are generally achieved by methods involving observations of each animal walking. There is no published method for assessing lameness in cows confined in tie-stalls. The objective of this study (carried out within the European Commission’s Welfare Quality® project) was to develop a suitable method and validate it for lameness detection against a published locomotion score. A series of indicators of lameness visible in tied cows was formalized into a stall assessment protocol. This was validated against a traditional locomotion score and tested for …


Influence Of Neck-Rail Placement On Free-Stall Preference, Use, And Cleanliness, Cassandra B. Tucker, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser Aug 2005

Influence Of Neck-Rail Placement On Free-Stall Preference, Use, And Cleanliness, Cassandra B. Tucker, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Three experiments examined how the presence of a neck rail at different heights and locations influenced dairy cattle behavior and stall cleanliness. Experiment 1 compared 4 levels of neck-rail height (102, 114, and 127 cm and no neck rail; presented at 160 or 180 cm from the curb) in a preference test. Cows (n = 10) showed no consistent preference based on neck-rail height, regardless of the horizontal position of the neck rail. When cows were restricted to each treatment in turn, however, time spent standing fully (with all 4 hooves) in the stall was least in the stall with …