{"title":"How Do We Recognize the Effects of Dairy Cattle Activity in the Lying Area? A Case Study in Free-Stall Barns.","authors":"Marek Gaworski","doi":"10.3390/ani15060880","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dairy cattle kept in barns with a free-stall system have contact with the structural elements of the stalls in the lying area. As a result of the cattle entering the lying stall, lying down, and standing up, shiny surfaces appear on the neck rails and partitions. These shiny surfaces can be a source of information about the activity of the animals in the lying stalls over a long period of time. This case study aimed to assess the diversity of shiny spots on the neck rails and partitions in the lying area of barns with a free-stall system. The length of the shiny surfaces and their locations on the neck rails and partitions were measured in three barns (on one dairy farm) containing a total of 512 lying stalls. The differences in the lengths of the shiny surfaces on the left and right partitions were assessed, and their locations on the partitions and neck rail were compared. Identifying the interactions between animals and metal elements of the lying stalls could contribute to improving the welfare of dairy cattle.</p>","PeriodicalId":7955,"journal":{"name":"Animals","volume":"15 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11939605/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Animals","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15060880","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Dairy cattle kept in barns with a free-stall system have contact with the structural elements of the stalls in the lying area. As a result of the cattle entering the lying stall, lying down, and standing up, shiny surfaces appear on the neck rails and partitions. These shiny surfaces can be a source of information about the activity of the animals in the lying stalls over a long period of time. This case study aimed to assess the diversity of shiny spots on the neck rails and partitions in the lying area of barns with a free-stall system. The length of the shiny surfaces and their locations on the neck rails and partitions were measured in three barns (on one dairy farm) containing a total of 512 lying stalls. The differences in the lengths of the shiny surfaces on the left and right partitions were assessed, and their locations on the partitions and neck rail were compared. Identifying the interactions between animals and metal elements of the lying stalls could contribute to improving the welfare of dairy cattle.
AnimalsAgricultural and Biological Sciences-Animal Science and Zoology
CiteScore
4.90
自引率
16.70%
发文量
3015
审稿时长
20.52 days
期刊介绍:
Animals (ISSN 2076-2615) is an international and interdisciplinary scholarly open access journal. It publishes original research articles, reviews, communications, and short notes that are relevant to any field of study that involves animals, including zoology, ethnozoology, animal science, animal ethics and animal welfare. However, preference will be given to those articles that provide an understanding of animals within a larger context (i.e., the animals'' interactions with the outside world, including humans). There is no restriction on the length of the papers. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical research in as much detail as possible. Full experimental details and/or method of study, must be provided for research articles. Articles submitted that involve subjecting animals to unnecessary pain or suffering will not be accepted, and all articles must be submitted with the necessary ethical approval (please refer to the Ethical Guidelines for more information).