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Relating Lying Behavior With Climate, Body Condition Score, and Milk Production in Dairy Cows
Daniela Lovarelli1, Alberto Tamburini2, Gabriele Mattachini2
1Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy.
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
|November 30, 2020
Summary
Higher producing dairy cows lie down more, indicating better welfare. Environmental factors like temperature-humidity index (THI) above 70 negatively impact lying time, affecting cow health and productivity.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Dairy Cattle Production
- Animal Welfare
Background:
- Increasing focus on animal behavior and welfare in livestock farming.
- Lying time is a key indicator of dairy cattle health, welfare, and milk production.
- Understanding factors influencing lying behavior is crucial for improving farm management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between dairy cow lying behavior and milk production.
- To assess the impact of body condition score (BCS), weather variables, and temperature-humidity index (THI) on lying time.
- To analyze these relationships in primiparous lactating cows on a Northern Italian dairy farm.
Main Methods:
- One-year data collection using sensors for environmental and activity monitoring.
- Statistical analyses including Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Factor Analysis (FA), Generalized Linear Model Select (GLMSelect), and Logistic Analysis (LA).
- Correlation analysis between lying behavior, milk yield, BCS, and environmental parameters.
Main Results:
- Weather parameters generally had a limited effect on lying time, except for a negative impact when the temperature-humidity index (THI) exceeded 70.
- More productive dairy cows exhibited longer lying times compared to less productive cows.
- Milk production, lying time, and body condition score (BCS) demonstrated a correlated trend.
Conclusions:
- High THI (above 70) is detrimental to dairy cow lying time and potentially welfare.
- Lying time is a valuable indicator positively associated with milk production and body condition score in dairy cows.
- Monitoring lying behavior can aid in optimizing dairy farm management for improved animal welfare and productivity.
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