Designing housing to meet the needs of the dairy cow: What characteristics do cows value in a lying area?
Shewbridge-Carter, L. (2021) Designing housing to meet the needs of the dairy cow: What characteristics do cows value in a lying area? Doctoral thesis, Harper Adams University.
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Abstract
Dairy cows are motivated to access pasture, potentially driven by the need for a comfortable lying area. However, most cows experience indoor cubicle housing annually which may not meet the behavioural or welfare needs of cows. The studies reported here set out to improve our knowledge on the lying conditions provided by pasture that makes it attractive for cows to lie down, with the hope that the findings will help influence the design of future dairy cow housing. The space available and surface type are two qualities that have been identified previously as affecting cow lying behaviour. The first study used preference testing and a trade-off test to investigate which quality cows valued more. Cows traded lying on their preferred surface with a cubicle for lying on their second preferred surface as an open-lying area (P=0.02), demonstrating the importance of space when choosing where to lie down. To quantify this preference, a second study measured cow motivation for an open-lying area, using walking distance as an indicator, when cows had ‘free’ access to mattress cubicles. Two different surface types were used, mattress and straw, to identify if surface type affected motivation. Although cows reduced lying times on the open-lying areas at the longest distance tested (P<0.001), they did continue to walk this distance to lie down on the open lying areas for >60% of their total lying time, indicating a high motivation. Surface type had a limited effect on motivation, with lying space the main motivation for accessing these open-lying areas. The final study investigated cow preference and motivation for lying outdoors, when the lying space and surface type indoors and outdoors was equal. An interaction was found between preference and motivation for lying indoors and outdoors (P<0.001), with cows showing no preference between locations, and low motivation to lie down outdoors. The original findings of this thesis have identified features of the lying area that are important for cows. The results have implications for lying area provisions by farmers and show that housed cow welfare can be improved with innovative housing design.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Animal Health, Behaviour and Welfare (from 1.09.21) |
| Depositing User: | Ms Kath Osborn |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Feb 2022 10:45 |
| Last Modified: | 12 May 2022 03:30 |
| URI: | https://hau.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17803 |
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