Space allowance: a tool for improving behavior, milk and meat production, and reproduction performance of buffalo in different housing systems—a review

Abstract

Buffalo population has dramatically increased during the last two decades, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Although buffalo are important milk and meat-producing animal, still practices of buffalo farming and welfare aspects are not well established. Housing system and stocking density are significant factors that affect the welfare and production of animals; however, no space allowance standards have been demonstrated for buffalo at different ages. This review article presents the following: (1) an overview of buffalo subtypes and their geographical distribution of buffalo populations and their production; (2) the effect of housing systems and space allowance on the social behavior and welfare indices; (3) the effects of space allowance on milk production and growth performance of buffalo; and (4) the relationship between space allowance and reproductive performance. Although the limited data in this area of research, it can be driven that a larger space allowance with access to a pool, especially during the hot season, maintains buffalo production at optimal levels. Moreover, optimal floor space improves the welfare and social indices of buffalo; however, there are discrepancies in aggressive and agonistic behavior results. Surprisingly, the reproductive performance of buffalo was not affected by space allowance. Therefore, further research is needed to identify the impact of the housing aspects, including space allowance and enrichment tools. on the productive performance, and welfare indices of buffalo. This would assist in implementing welfare-economic standards for buffalo production and reveal the potentiality of this eco-friendly animal.

Mats Made from Recycled Tyre Rubber and Polyurethane for Improving Growth Performance in Buffalo Farms

“…Replacing the flooring of resting areas for these ruminants with more comfortable flooring could be an effective first approach to improving their welfare conditions, as has already been demonstrated in other case studies involving cows [44][45][46][47]. Indeed, improving the living conditions of buffaloes translates into numerous benefits, including a reduction in the occurrence of joint diseases, an increase in milk yield and milk quality, and an improvement in well-being as a result of providing hygienic resting spaces [36][37][38]48,49].…”

“…Therefore, the application of new technologies that can improve the management of animals, their health and welfare conditions, and consequently also the quality of the products that can be obtained from this livestock practice, will play an increasingly crucial role. Since buffaloes are characterised by a peculiar physical structure, which predisposes them to joint overload and limits their adaptability to artificial floors that differ significantly from their natural grazing environments, particular housing configurations may not guarantee optimal comfort for these animals [34][35][36][37][38]. On buffalo farms, there are usually two commonly used types of flooring, namely: metal or concrete grids without coverings, or soft bedding (e.g., straw).…”

The Challenge of Global Warming in Water Buffalo Farming: Physiological and Behavioral Aspects and Strategies to Face Heat Stress

“…When animals are outside of their thermoneutral zone, which is defined as the environmental temperature range in which the species is in thermal comfort, a series of adaptive thermoregulatory mechanisms are triggered to promote heat loss and maintain the balance between the amount of produced heat via metabolic processes with the one that must be dissipated [21,[62][63][64][65][66]. This is relevant because when animals are not able to dissipate heat to reduce their core temperatures, this results in a decreased food intake, low weight gain, and even fertility issues [67].…”

Impact of epidermal growth factor and/or β-mercaptoethanol supplementations on the in vitro produced buffaloes' embryos

“…The demographic characteristics of in vitro maturation, fertilization, and cleavage rates in addition to blastocyst production in response to EGF and/or βME added to the different media using Chi 2 analyses have shown that EGF in 20 ng/mL was the highly potent agent rather than βME 50 µM. Although the combined treatment of both EGF and βME significantly increased the growth rates of those embryos, it didn't score additional enhancement compared to those of EGF or βME, each alone (Chi 2 = 19.0 and 12.0, respectively; Tables 1, 2 and Figures 3, 4, respectively; P < 0.05).…”

“…Buffaloes ( Bubalus bubalis ) are important milk and meat producers and efficiently resist adverse environmental conditions. However, buffaloes have lower productivity and reproductive performance than cows due to; anoestrus, delayed puberty, or lower conception rates ( 1 , 2 ). Compared to cows, the donner buffaloes were known to give lower ovarian follicles numbers, a low embryo recovery rate, and less effective superovulation ( 3 ), which may be attributed to the genetic-merits advancements through reproduction-biotechnologies of the cows compared to buffaloes ( 4 , 5 ).…”