The effect of rearing system on behavioural and immune responses of buffalo heifers

Rosa, Giuseppe De; Napolitano, Fabio; Saltalamacchia, F.; Bilancione, A.; Sabia, Emilio; Grasso, F.; Bordi, A.

doi:10.4081/ijas.2007.s2.1260

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…However, this longer duration of immune efficiency compared to the shorter one recorded in this study can be attributed to the higher time spent grazing (24 h) by young bulls [5]. Instead, the cell-mediated response to the skin test recorded in G cows expresses their better immune status, and is consistent with previous studies that have compared grazing and confined animals of different ruminant species [5,30,31,32].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Effects of Grazing on the Behaviour, Oxidative and Immune Status, and Production of Organic Dairy Cows

Grigoli

Trana

Alabiso

et al. 2019

Animals

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This study compared the effects of a short daily grazing time with those of permanent free-stall housing on the behaviour, oxidative status, immune response, and milk production of organically reared cows. During a 63-day period, two homogeneous groups of eight lactating Brown cows were allocated to either housing (H) in a free-stall building for 24 h/day. Feeding was based on a total mixed ration or grazing (G) on barley grass for 5 h/day, and housing in a free-stall structure with feeding was based on the same total mixed ration offered to the H group. With regard to behaviour, H cows spent more time idling, walking, drinking, and self-grooming, whereas G cows showed a greater intent to eat and interact socially. Moreover, G cows exhibited slightly higher reactive oxygen metabolites and similar biological antioxidant potential concentrations than the H group, which indicates that short grazing resulted in an almost negligible increase in oxidative stress and an unchanged antioxidant capacity. Skin tests, performed by injecting phytohemoagglutinin intradermally, indicated that G cows had thicker skin than H cows at the end of the trial, an index of a better cell-mediated immune response. Grazing did not affect milk yield but improved milk quality in terms of an increase in fat and a reduction in urea content, somatic cell count, and total microbial count. Milk from G cows was richer in saturated fatty acids, likely because of the contribution of palmitic acid present in the grazed barley grass, and also showed higher contents of some healthy fatty acids, such as rumenic acid and α-linolenic acid, and a lower omega-6/omega-3 ratio. These results show that including a short grazing time in the diets of organic dairy cows does not have negative consequences for milk production and contributes to improved milk quality as well as to a more efficient immune response in the cows.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Effects of Grazing on the Behaviour, Oxidative and Immune Status, and Production of Organic Dairy Cows

Grigoli

Trana

Alabiso

et al. 2019

Animals

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“…Similar results were obtained in different ruminant species such as sheep (Braghieri et al, 2007) and buffaloes (De Rosa et al, 2007) in which grazing animals showed higher skin thickening as compared with C animals.…”

Section: Immune Responsessupporting

confidence: 83%

Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement

Braghieri

Pacelli

Rosa

et al. 2011

Animal

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the effect of rearing system (confined (C) v. free ranging (FR)) and season (spring v. summer) was evaluated on behaviour, immune and blood parameters and beef production (experiment 1). From February to August 2008, the effect of rearing system was only evaluated on beef production (experiment 2). A total of 12 Podolian young bulls were used each year. They were slaughtered at 18 and 15 months of age in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Herbage mass and pasture composition were monitored during the 2 years. Pasture availability, in terms of herbage mass and composition, as well as its seasonal development, was similar in the 2 years. In the first experiment, FR animals spent more time walking ( P , 0.05), feeding ( P , 0.001) and standing ( P , 0.01) and showed a lower number of agonistic ( P , 0.05) and non-agonistic social interaction than C animals ( P , 0.01). Significant lower concentrations of serum urea nitrogen ( P , 0.001) and creatinine ( P , 0.10) in FR animals indicated a lower protein nutritional status due to inadequate protein availability at pasture. As a consequence, average daily gains ( P , 0.05), slaughter weight ( P , 0.05) and body condition score ( P , 0.01) were lower in grazing animals as compared with C bulls. Cellular immune responsiveness was higher in FR animals ( P , 0.05). Similarly, antibody titre to keyhole limpet hemocyanin was higher in FR bulls at the 2nd and 3rd month after antigen injection ( P , 0.05), whereas it tended to be higher at the 4th month ( P , 0.10). In both experiments, grazing negatively affected meat colour in terms of lightness. Eighteenmonth-old bulls also showed lower final weight, weight gain and body conditions when kept outdoor: a possible consequence of nutrient deficits, as suggested by the metabolic status of FR animals. The same animals, however, benefited from FR in terms of natural behaviour expression and immune responsiveness. When the experiment was replicated the subsequent year, on animals slaughtered at 15 months of age, no differences between the performances of FR and C animals were detected. The earlier slaughter age system was also proportionally less dependent on external inputs as grazing was not extended to the dry season when herbage mass availability was lower.

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“…Although some studies assessed the effect of a pool or potholes on behavior and immunity of buffalo heifers (De Rosa et al, 2007) and on buffalo cow reproduction (Di Palo et al, 2001;Zicarelli et al, 2001), behavior (Tripaldi et al, 2004), and metabolic profile , they did not consider the relationship with the environmental temperatures and the animal's need for thermoregulation. Thus, the present study aimed to verify the effect of 2 housing systems (with and without a pool and an ample outdoor paddock) on the behavior, reproductive performance, and milk yield of buffalo cows in relation to the surrounding temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavior and milk production of buffalo cows as affected by housing system

Rosa

Grasso

Braghieri

et al. 2009

Journal of Dairy Science

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To verify the effect of 2 housing systems (with and without a pool and an ample outdoor lot) on behavior and milk yield, 45 lactating buffalo cows were group-housed in a free stall open-sided barn with concrete floor where they received 10 m(2)/head as space allowance (group NP); 43 cows were group-housed in a similar barn, but had access to an outdoor yard (36 m(2)/head) and a concrete pool of 208 m(2) (group WP). Animals were subjected to 8 sessions of instantaneous scan sampling at approximately 10-d intervals. Behavioral variables were expressed as proportions of subjects observed in each category of posture and activity. In addition, rapid behaviors such as agonistic, social, and reproductive interactions, social licking, and self-grooming were recorded continuously. These variables were expressed as number of interactions per animal. At the end of each hour of observation, temperature and relative humidity were recorded. In WP the proportion of animals observed wallowing was 0.476 +/- 0.034, whereas lower proportions were observed standing (0.389 +/- 0.029) or lying (0.141 +/- 0.021) outside the pool. In NP the proportions of animals observed standing and lying were 0.452 +/- 0.042 and 0.548 +/- 0.042, respectively. A significant relationship between mean temperatures recorded on observation days and proportion of animals in the pool was observed (r(s) = 0.41). Fewer animals from group WP were observed idling compared with buffaloes from group NP (0.44 +/- 0.024 vs. 0.509 +/- 0.024, respectively), whereas more WP animals were involved in investigative activities than NP cows (0.099 +/- 0.009 vs. 0.042 +/- 0.009, respectively). A greater number of social interactions (sniffing and nuzzling) and social lickings were observed in group WP than in group NP (0.120 +/- 0.010 vs. 0.067 +/- 0.010, and 0.151 +/- 0.018 vs. 0.090 +/- 0.018, respectively). The WP buffalo cows had a greater milk yield than NP cows (11.73 +/- 0.31 vs. 10.78 +/- 0.28 kg/d, respectively), whereas no differences between groups were observed for protein (4.86 +/- 0.04 vs. 4.80 +/- 0.03% for WP and NP, respectively) and fat contents (8.49 +/- 0.14 vs. 8.38 +/- 0.13% for WP and NP, respectively). We conclude that the provision of a pool and an ample outdoor paddock can have beneficial effects on welfare and milk production of buffaloes.

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The effect of rearing system on behavioural and immune responses of buffalo heifers

Cited by 13 publications

References 1 publication

Effects of Grazing on the Behaviour, Oxidative and Immune Status, and Production of Organic Dairy Cows

Effects of Grazing on the Behaviour, Oxidative and Immune Status, and Production of Organic Dairy Cows

Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement

Behavior and milk production of buffalo cows as affected by housing system

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