Pasture Access Affects Behavioral Indicators of Wellbeing in Dairy Cows

Dairy cows in Europe and the United States are increasingly housed indoors year-round. Even cows with pasture access are usually kept inside during the winter and around calving. However, animal welfare scientists and dairy consumers are concerned that full-time housing impacts cattle welfare. We investigated how pasture influences behavioral indicators of wellbeing.
Using activity monitor sensors, we recorded 29 animals’ lying and walking activity during 18 days of pasture access and 18 days of indoor housing. Cattle at pasture had fewer lying bouts but longer lying times, indicating they were more comfortable and less restless. Lying behavior was also more synchronous outdoors, with most of the herd lying at the same time. These results indicate pasture provides a comfortable surface and reduces competition for lying space. Furthermore, cows at pasture walked
farther, with potential benefits for their physical health and psychological wellbeing. Our findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that pasture access improves dairy cow welfare.
Crump, A.1, Jenkins, K.1, Bethell, E. J.2, Ferris, C. P.3, & Arnott, G.1 (2019). Pasture Access Affects Behavioral Indicators of Wellbeing in Dairy Cows. Animals, 9(11), 902.
1 Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, 1-33 Chlorine
Gardens, Belfast BT9 5AJ, UK
2 Research Centre in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology,
Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
3 Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Large Park, Hillsborough BT26 6DR, UK
Full article / DOI can be found here.
Blog
Categories
Archive
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- October 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016