Welfare assessment of dairy cows in automatic milking systems

Deliverable D23

Authors: J. Hindhede, T. Rousing, Chr. Fossing, J. Tind Sørensen

In general there is an increased focus on animal welfare in commercial farms. However the knowledge about the effects of the production systems and a management with advanced technology and nontraditional diurnal routines on the welfare of cows in herds with AMS is limited. Furthermore, experiences from previous studies indicate that there is a large variation between herds in general regarding animal welfare due to the effect of interactions between production system and management. Consequently there is a need for development of welfare indicators relevant for AMS herds as well as a welfare assessment system at herd level providing a decision support tool.

In general welfare indicators which are relevant for inclusion in an operational welfare assessment system should have the following qualities:

• They have to be based in scientific knowledge
• They should be able to detect changes over time.
• They should be measurable on commercial farms within a realistic framework.
• They have to be capable to offer decision support to the farmer.

Welfare indicator candidates are found among both indirect indicators related to systems and systems application, as well as animal behaviour and health, relating more directly to the animals in question. The aim of this protocol is to suggest welfare indicators and demonstrate the aggregation of welfare indicators into a welfare assessment protocol based on:

• The individual welfare relevance of the indicators.
• The marginal welfare information value of the indicators (given other welfare indicators in the protocol)
• The applicability of the indicators for on-farm studies (repeatability, reproducibility and ressource requirements)

A full welfare indicator protocol has been described including observations from the system (housing and pastures) and systems applications such as: animal density, management (feeding, drinking, grazing, milking, replacement, health surveillance, disease treatments) and the cow traffic system.

Welfare indicators based on behaviour studies (6 times a year) focus on: Man-animal relationship, behaviour at/in AMU, getting up behaviour, resting behaviour, social behaviour and diurnal behaviour pattern, and usage of the stable.

Welfare indicators concerning health are based on regular clinical examinations (4 times a year) focusing on: hoof and leg disorders, lameness, skin lesions, udder infections, body condition, clinical diseases. Furthermore, incidences of disease and death are included as health indicators.

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