Dairy cow welfare assessment on Algerian farms

Abstract

This study is the first to use the Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol (WQ® AP)

Influence of the Housing System and the Season on Some Parameters Indicative of the Welfare of Dairy Cows in Eastern Algeria

“…According to Bastien et al (2006), the state of dirt of bovine leathers is the highest in winter (around January-February) with proportions of dirty animals reaching the rate of more than one out of five bovines under breeding conditions in France. This latter constant was also observed in Benatallah et al (2015) studies, who reported a high frequency of udder dirt (62.6%), hindquarters (60.6%) and hind limbs (60.6%). Indeed, the increase in the frequency of dirt in animals would be influenced by the nature of the soil, the fecal consistency, the drainage system, the frequency of cleaning as well as the dominance of the housing system hampered (53% of Algerian farms are in zero pasture).…”

“…These results are consistent with De Vries et al (2011) which assessed the influence of body condition on milk production and find that the lower the BCS, the higher the milk yield. Moreover, Benatallah et al (2015) reported that out of the 95 Algerian dairy farms surveyed, 81 farms contained very lean cows (BCS< 2) with an average prevalence of 33.1% ranging from 5.8% to 51.9%.…”

“…Each unit increase in the score for a good diet is associated with a 26.49 kg increase in milk production. On the other hand, Benatallah et al (2015) estimated that a 50% ad libitum water restriction would immediately reduce milk performance with a loss of 5 kg of milk per day. We also found a positive correlation between milk production, the incidence of lameness (r = 0.82; P <0.01) and the individual cleanliness of dairy cows (r = 0.81; P <0.01) (Table 5).…”

“…However, in most of the North African countries such as Algeria, animal welfare is rarely the subject of specific legislative or regulatory provisions (Molomo and Mumba, 2014). On the other hand, animal welfare is considered critically important by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and its assessment is regarded as a tool being used by most researchers in African countries (Allane et al, 2011;Benatallah et al, 2015;Kathambi et al, 2019;Darej et al, 2019).…”

Feeding Practices of Dairy Owners in Semi-arid Region of Algeria

“…In this study, the results revealed that dairy cows have free access to water in 68.02% of farms; whereas, 31.97% Feeding Practices of Dairy Owners in Semi-arid Region of Algeria of the farms, dairy cows had limited access and water was distributed once a day in winter and twice a day in other seasons. Benatallah et al (2015) showed that the water supply was insufficient in almost all the farms surveyed where the "Long absence of thirst" scores are the lowest. Bourdon et al (2013) recommended making sure that the herds always have the quantity and quality of water needed because a slight under-watering causes an immediate decrease in food consumption and milk production.…”