Stabilization of social hierarchy in dairy cows

Kondo, Seiji; Hurnik, J. F.

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(90)90125-w

Cited by 119 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…A field experiment has shown that a steady state can be achieved in the barn (Halachmi, 1999). Increasing the herd size may increase the time necessary to reach social stability (Kondo and Hurnik, 1990), and competition for resources such as water, feed or resting space also has a pronounced effect on this time, as do the group composition, age, and social experience of the animals. But we assume that a sufficiently long time had elapsed from the moment of assembling the cows into a herd, so that a given group could be considered to be socially stabilized.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing the optimal robotic milking barn by applying a queuing network approach

Halachmi

Adan

Wal

et al. 2003

Agricultural Systems

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The design of various conventional dairy barns is based on centuries of experience, but there is hardly any experience with robotic milking barns (RMB). Furthermore, as each farmer has his own management practices, the optimal layout is 'site dependent'. A new universally applicable design methodology has been developed, to overcome this lack of experience with RMBs and to facilitate the designing of their optimal layout. This model for optimizing facility allocation, based on cow behaviour, welfare needs, and facility utilization, uses queuing network theory, Markov process, and heuristic optimization. The methodology has been programmed into a software application, supporting the design process. On a particular farm, presented later as a case study, numerical results include: if the herd contains more than 50 cows, the forage-lane utilization is greater than 70% (or idle time is less than 30%). To meet animal-welfare demands, the herd size should not exceed 60 cows. Therefore, the herd should comprise 50-60 cows. In the second scenario examined, the average robot idle time was 25%, queue length was three cows, and each cow waited for about 3 min at the robot. It is still uncommon to apply techniques from queuing-network theory to livestock housing, and this study demonstrates their potential as practical design tools that meet both economic and animal welfare needs. #

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing the optimal robotic milking barn by applying a queuing network approach

Halachmi

Adan

Wal

et al. 2003

Agricultural Systems

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“…Agonistic encounters were recorded for 30 min just after all cattle had moved to the other free stall area. Social rank was determined from the results of the observations, according to the method used by Kondo and Hurnik (1990).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of feeding operation and social factors on cattle locomotion in free stall barns

Uetake

Yayou²,

Okamoto³

1998

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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, T. 1998. Influence of feeding operation and social factors on cattle locomotion in free stall barns. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 78: 421-424. The influence of feeding operation and social factors on voluntary movement of cattle was studied with a group of nine Holstein calves in free stall barns. The results of this study suggest that cattle can move more voluntarily when rations are put beyond the place that farmers want them to walk through. The results also suggest that conflicts between motivations for approaching rations and avoiding competitive feeding behaviour should be considered when efficient systems of locomotion control of cattle groups are designed, such as in AMSs.

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“…As mentioned before, mixing of unfamiliar animals as well as regrouping familiar animals after a certain period of separation, leads to an increase in aggressive interactions (Brakel and Leis, 1976;Collis et al, 1979;Kondo and Hurnik, 1990;Menke et al, 2000;Bouissou et al, 2001) with the risk of injuries caused by butts . Increased amount of fighting and (sudden) withdrawal may also enhance the risk of claw lesions due to heavy pressure on claws, quick claw movements and slipping.…”

Section: Grouping Regrouping and Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific report on the effects of farming systems on dairy cow welfare and disease

2009

EFSA Journal

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Stabilization of social hierarchy in dairy cows

Cited by 119 publications

References 6 publications

Designing the optimal robotic milking barn by applying a queuing network approach

Designing the optimal robotic milking barn by applying a queuing network approach

Influence of feeding operation and social factors on cattle locomotion in free stall barns

Scientific report on the effects of farming systems on dairy cow welfare and disease

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