Dairy Cows’ Welfare Quality in Relation to Housing System
Authors
Ostojić Andrić, DušicaHristov, Slavča
Zlatanović, Zvonko
Nikšić, Dragan

Pajić, Marko
Caro Petrović, Violeta

Stanojković, Aleksandar

Article (Published version)
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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
(4...9.5%) 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.
Keywords:
Assessment, dairy cows, housing system, welfare.Source:
Large Animal Review, 2022, 28, 265-272Funding / projects:
URI
https://www.largeanimalreview.com/index.php/lar/article/view/543http://r.istocar.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/822
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RIStocarTY - JOUR AU - Ostojić Andrić, Dušica AU - Hristov, Slavča AU - Zlatanović, Zvonko AU - Nikšić, Dragan AU - Pajić, Marko AU - Caro Petrović, Violeta AU - Stanojković, Aleksandar PY - 2022 UR - https://www.largeanimalreview.com/index.php/lar/article/view/543 UR - http://r.istocar.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/822 AB - 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. T2 - Large Animal Review T1 - Dairy Cows’ Welfare Quality in Relation to Housing System VL - 28 SP - 265 EP - 272 UR - https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_ristocar_822 ER -
@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" }
Ostojić Andrić, D., Hristov, S., Zlatanović, Z., Nikšić, D., Pajić, M., Caro Petrović, V.,& Stanojković, A.. (2022). Dairy Cows’ Welfare Quality in Relation to Housing System. in Large Animal Review, 28, 265-272. https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_ristocar_822
Ostojić Andrić D, Hristov S, Zlatanović Z, Nikšić D, Pajić M, Caro Petrović V, Stanojković A. Dairy Cows’ Welfare Quality in Relation to Housing System. in Large Animal Review. 2022;28:265-272. https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_ristocar_822 .
Ostojić Andrić, Dušica, Hristov, Slavča, Zlatanović, Zvonko, Nikšić, Dragan, Pajić, Marko, Caro Petrović, Violeta, Stanojković, Aleksandar, "Dairy Cows’ Welfare Quality in Relation to Housing System" in Large Animal Review, 28 (2022):265-272, https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_ristocar_822 .