@article{
author = "Ostojić Andrić, Dušica and Hristov, Slavča and Zlatanović, Zvonko and Nikšić, Dragan and Pajić, Marko and Caro Petrović, Violeta and Stanojković, Aleksandar",
year = "2022",
abstract = "The objective was to assess the dairy cows’ welfare quality in relation to the housing system: loose (LHS) vs. tie-stall (THS). A
survey was done according to the Welfare Quality® Protocol for Cattle on 16 dairy farms (7 in LHS and 9 in THS) in Serbia. From
a total number of 4833 dairy cows (2392 cows in THS and 2441 cows in LHS) 551 cows in THS and 470 cows in LHS have been
sampled randomly for clinical scoring (body condition score, health state, and cleanliness). The assessment was based on the evaluation
of
29 welfare
measures,
12 criteria,
and 4 principles
that are
relevant
for determining
risks
and final categorization
of
farms
into
one of
four welfare
categories:
not classified,
acceptable,
enhanced,
and excellent.
The results
obtained in this study
showed
that
the housing system
affected
many
parameters
of
cows’
welfare
referring
to
their comfort,
health,
and behaviour.
The high
proportion
of
animals lying
outside the lying
area
(49.5%) and colliding
with
equipment (16.7%) indicate
lack of
space
and movement
restriction
as major welfare
risks
in THS.
Consequentially,
scores
for injuries
(AI=45.8 points) and emotional state
(ES=43.2
points)
were
estimated
significantly
lower
than in LHS (58.9 and 60.4 points respectively).
LHS has advantages
when it comes
to
freedom
of
movement,
body
condition,
skin health,
and emotional state,
but the proportions
of
cows
with
dirty
lower
legs,
flank,
and upper legs
(93.4% and 80.66%) were
significantly
higher
than
in THS as well
as the frequency
of
lameness (31.4%).
According
to
the overall
assessment,
most of
the LHS farms
(5 of
7) were
classified as enhanced,
while the majority
of
THS farms
(6
of
9) were
acceptable.
This study
showed
that despite
the welfare
quality
parameters
were
not exceptional
in both housing systems,
LHS meets the requirements
of
welfare
assurance
to
a greater
extent
than THS and therefore
should be promoted
and widely
implemented.",
journal = "Large Animal Review",
title = "Dairy Cows’ Welfare Quality in Relation to Housing System",
volume = "28",
pages = "265-272",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_ristocar_822"
}
