Relative importance of factors influencing the prevalence of lameness in Austrian cubicle loose-housed dairy cows

Rouha-Mülleder, Cornelia; Iben, Christine; Wagner, Elisabeth; Laaha, Gregor; Troxler, J.; Waiblinger, Susanne

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2009.07.008

Cited by 53 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Several authors have shown that the behaviour, attitudes and choices of stock persons influence the animal health and welfare. RouhaMülleder and co-authors [7] showed for example how management decisions and the human-animal relationship influenced the prevalence of lameness in Austrian cubicle loose-housed dairy cows. Lack of appropriate education and awareness among farmers and advisors was regarded a major reason for this.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Health and Welfare Planning in Organic Dairy Cattle Farms

Vaarst¹

2011

TOVSJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Continuous development is needed within the farm to reach the goal of good animal health and welfare in organic livestock farming. The very different conditions between countries call for models that are relevant for different farming types and can be integrated into local practice and be relevant for each type of farming context. This article reviews frameworks, principles and practices for animal health and welfare planning which are relevant for organic livestock farming. This review is based on preliminary analyses carried out within a European project (acronym ANIPLAN) with participants from seven countries. The process begins with gathering knowledge about the current status within a given herd as background for making decisions and planning future improvements as well as evaluating already implemented improvements. Respectful communication between the owner of the herd and other farmers as well as animal health and welfare professionals (veterinarians and advisors) is paramount. This paper provides an overview of some current animal health and welfare planning initiatives and explains the principles of animal health and welfare planning which are being implemented in ANIPLAN partner countries, in collaboration with groups of organic farmers and organisations.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Health and Welfare Planning in Organic Dairy Cattle Farms

Vaarst¹

2011

TOVSJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Measures were included when a reasonable estimation could be made, based on literature and expert knowledge, about the effects on dairy cow foot health. For different measures the amount of information was insufficient to model the effects, for example improved heifer management as mentioned by Rouha-Mü lleder et al (2009), where a good description of the measure and the expected effects are lacking. A very important intervention measure is management improvement by the farmer; 'stockmanship'.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These difficulties in estimating the effects make it hard to quantify the effects. Keeping dry cows in straw yards is also a good measure to reduce the incidence of foot disorders, where the effect on CHL (like SoH and WLD) is found to be much higher than for the infectious foot disorders (Somers et al, 2005a;Rouha-Mü lleder et al, 2009). However, the extent of effect and the way to execute the measure vary a lot and were therefore not modeled.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures to improve dairy cow foot health: consequences for farmer income and dairy cow welfare

Bruijnis

Hogeveen

Stassen

2013

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dairy farming in western countries with cubicle housing is an efficient way of dairy farming. Though, a disadvantage is the high prevalence and incidence of foot disorders (clinical and subclinical), which cause high economic losses and also seriously impair the welfare of dairy cattle. To point out the importance of reducing the amount and severity of foot disorders, advice to farmers should include information about the scale of the problem and the consequences in terms of economics and animal welfare. To provide support in making decisions on implementing intervention measures, insight into costs and benefits of different measures should be available. The objective of this study, therefore, is to provide more insight into the costs and benefits, for farmer and cow, of different intervention measures to improve dairy cow foot health. Intervention measures were modeled when they were applicable on a dairy farm with cubicle housing and when sufficient information was available in literature. Net costs were calculated as the difference between the costs of the measure and the economic benefits resulting from the measure. Welfare benefits were calculated as well. Cost-effective measures are: improving lying surface (mattress and bedding, h7 and h1/cow per year, respectively), reducing stocking density (break even) and performing additional foot trimming (h1/cow per year). Simultaneously, these measures have a relative high welfare benefit. Labor costs play an important role in the cost-effectiveness of labor-intensive measures. More insight into cost-effectiveness and welfare benefits of intervention measures can help to prioritize when choosing between intervention measures.

show abstract

“…Lürzel et al (2015) found that gentle interaction was effective in reducing the calves' fear of humans. A negative human-animal relationship, indicative of fear and avoidance of humans, increases the risk for lameness (Chesterton et al, 1989;Rouha-Mülleder et al, 2009). However, in intensive dairy farming, close positive contact between farmer and animals is not always possible.…”

Section: Poor Stockmanshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key issues in the welfare of dairy cattle

Hultgren¹

2017

Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Relative importance of factors influencing the prevalence of lameness in Austrian cubicle loose-housed dairy cows

Cited by 53 publications

References 19 publications

Animal Health and Welfare Planning in Organic Dairy Cattle Farms

Animal Health and Welfare Planning in Organic Dairy Cattle Farms

Measures to improve dairy cow foot health: consequences for farmer income and dairy cow welfare

Key issues in the welfare of dairy cattle

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About