The aim of this study was to evaluate the repeatability of some animal related variables, which could be used in proto- cols developed for assessing animal welfare at farm level. Recordings were performed in seven dairy farms (four for cat- tle and three for buffaloes). The animals were observed on three occasions at three-week intervals. The variables col- lected for each animal were the following: behaviour during milking (stepping and kicking), avoidance distance, lame- ness and cleanliness. For each farm and each variable repeatability was computed using the Kendall coefficient of con- cordance (W). In buffalo farms avoidance distance may be considered highly reliable (W > 0.64), whereas in dairy cat- tle its reliability ranged from medium (W = 0.43 to 0.59) to high (W = 0.64). Behavioural recordings at milking showed that the reliability of stepping was either medium or high for both buffaloes and cattle (W = 0.51 to 0.66 and W = 0.52 to 0.76 for buffaloes and cattle, respectively). Conversely, kicking was less reliable. In cattle farms the reliability for cleanliness ranged from medium (W = 0.51) to high (W = 0.62 to 0.71), whereas, it was not reliable in the sole buffalo farm where this variable was monitored. In cattle farms, the concordance for lameness score was high in two farms (W = 0.62 and 0.66) and moderate in one farm (W = 0.43), whereas no animals displayed lameness in the fourth farm. In all buffalo farms no animals showed lameness. For each species, the Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance with one factorshow abstract
From November 2005 to October 2006, sixteen buffalo heifers were used to evaluate the effect of season on grazing behaviour. They grazed a fenced Mediterranean maquis of ~40ha. Approximately 10% of this area was covered by woodland and shrub vegetation and the rest of the area by grassy habitat. From December to March, animals were supplemented with dehydrated beet-pulps and meadow hay administered in the barn. Behavioural data were collected from March to October. During a 6-h period the behaviour of a focal animal, chosen at random, was continuously monitored. All observations were conducted during daylight (between 05.30 and 15.00). During the behavioural observations, the ingestion of woody or shrub vegetation was rarely observed. The proportion of time spent grazing was not affected by season (0.600, 0.409, and 0.434, for spring, summer and autumn, respectively). Animals lay more in summer and autumn than in spring (P<0.05). Ruminating was higher in summer and autumn than in spring (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). The results indicated that buffalo heifers can be considered grazers rather than browsers, as they did not ingest shrub vegetation, and that in summer and autumn the animals displayed higher levels of inactivity, as shown by increased lying down and ruminating behaviours
From November 2005 to October 2006 thirty-two buffalo heifers from the same commercial farm were used to evaluate the effect of rearing system on a range of behavioural and immune variables. Sixteen heifers were group-housed in indoor slatted floor pen (3.0 m2/animal) with an outdoor paddock (3.0 m2/animal) at ~5m above sea level (group IR). Sixteen others were kept at ~600m above sea level. They grazed a fenced Mediterranean maquis of ~40ha (group ER). At the end of the experimental period the animals were subjected to a novel object test. Each animal was exposed to a novel environment (a 6x6-m paddock), where in the middle a traffic cone was present. Avoidance distance at manger was evaluated by an assessor who walked slowly (1 step per second) toward each animal with one hand slightly forward until signs of withdrawal. Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA, 1mg/animal) was used to perform a skin test based on specific delayed type hypersensitivity. During the novel object test, IR animals touched more and devoted more time to the traffic cone than ER animals (P =0.003 and P=0.008, respectively). Avoidance distance at manger was lower in ER animals than IR (P=0.004). Skin thickness after PHA injection was higher in ER heifers than in IR (P=0.003). The results indicated that an extensive rearing system based on pasture seems to be a valid method to promote welfare and sustainability of buffalo heifer
This study aims to investigate the relationship between human behaviour, buffalo behaviour and prevalence of oxytocin injection at milking. The research was carried out on 17 buffalo farms. On each farm the stockperson's behaviour toward the buffaloes and the buffaloes' behaviour were observed during one afternoon's milking. Stockperson's behaviour was observed from collection of the animals in the waiting area to exit from the milking parlour. The following variables were recorded: number of positive, neutral and negative interactions. The number of steps and kicks were recorded from the entrance to the milking parlour to the removal of cups whenever the stockperson was less than 0.5 m from the animal. The prevalence of oxytocin injection at milking was recorded on two separate occasions with a 5-month interval to obtain a measure of the long-term consistency of this variable. Significant correlations were found between stepping and kicking, stepping and prevalence of oxytocin injection, kicking and prevalence of oxytocin injection and stockperson positive interactions and kicking. These results indicate that stockperson behaviour is related to buffalo behaviour at milking and the latter to the use of oxytocin injections. In addition, prevalence of oxytocin injection proved to be highly reliable when re-tested five months later.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra-observer repeatability of some animal-related variables which could be used in welfare-assessment protocols at farm level. Recordings were performed on seven dairy farms (four for cattle and three for buffaloes). The animals were observed on three occasions at three-week intervals. The variables collected for each animal were behaviour during milking (stepping and kicking), avoidance distance, lameness, and cleanliness. For each farm and each variable, intra-observer repeatability was computed using the Kendall coefficient of concordance (W). A ratio between the variance of the animal and the sum of the latter with the error variance was also calculated using a model of analysis of variance with one factor (animal), to give a further measure of repeatability. These two methods yielded similar results. In particular, in dairy cattle, a high repeatability for avoidance distance, stepping, lameness and cleanliness was observed, whereas for buffaloes avoidance distance and stepping were the repeatable variables.
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