Effect of Grazing on the Welfare of Dairy Cows Raised Under Different Housing Conditions in Compost Barns

Abstract

There is currently no established information for assessing the general welfare conditions and behavior of dairy cows housed in compost-bedded pack barns (CBPs) that allow access to pasture. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate and classify the welfare and behavior of dairy cows in three different housing conditions within CBPs in southern Brazil. During both the cold and hot seasons, nine farms were divided into three groups: CONV (conventional, large, full-time barns), ADAP (conventionally adapted, full-time barns), and PART (part-time barns). The European Welfare Quality® (WQ®) protocol takes into account the characteristics of the animals, animal housing, and farm management to set an overall score to assess animal welfare, which is why WQ® was used in this study. Daytime behavior was monitored over a period of four consecutive hours on two days. The 29 WQ® measures were grouped into 11 criteria, then into four principles, and finally into the general welfare category. The experimental design employed was a randomized block design in a 2 × 3 factorial scheme (two climatic seasons and three groups), with the means of the measures, principles, and criteria for each group, season, and interaction (group × season) compared using the Tukey test. The diurnal behavior of the cows was described by the average absolute frequency of each observed behavioral measure. There were no differences among the groups in any of the measures assessed by the WQ® protocol. However, there was a significant increase in both the incidence of diarrhea and the duration of lying down during the cold season. Only the principle of appropriate behavior varied among the groups, with the PART group demonstrating superior scores. Regardless of the season, the welfare of dairy cows maintained in CBPs was classified as “improved”. No abnormalities in behavior were observed among cows housed in the different groups or seasons. Cows in the PART group laid down less frequently during the hot season. Overall, the CBP system provided favorable welfare and behavioral conditions for cows in Brazil, and access to grazing further enhanced the welfare of animals housed in the PART group.