Effects of type of lesion and trimming on short-term behavior of grazing dairy cows

Cruz, Eduardo Augusto da; Fischer, Vivian; Passos, Lorena Teixeira; Porciuncula, Gabriela Caillava da; Stumpf, Marcelo Tempel; Werncke, Daíse; Santos, Carolina da Silva dos

doi:10.1590/S1806-92902017000400002

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Biometeorology and Animal Welfare • R. Bras. Zootec. 46 (4) • Apr 2017 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S1806-92902017000400002 copy

Effects of type of lesion and trimming on short-term behavior of grazing dairy cows

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate how type of hoof injury and corrective trimming alter the behavior of dairy cows. Thirty-four lactating Holstein and Jersey cows were used. They were scored for lameness score on days –2 and 6, before and after trimming and treatment, respectively, using a numerical rating system, in which 1 = perfect gait and 5 = severely lame, and had their postural and ingestive behavior evaluated on days –1 and 6 before and after trimming and treatment, respectively. Locomotion score was analyzed using t-paired test and behavioral data were analyzed by univariate variance analysis with cows as the experimental units, according to a completely randomized design with repeated measurements. Cows with infectious hoof diseases spent less time lying down and idling, but more time standing up and feeding at the trough than those with non-infectious hoof diseases. Locomotion score and the proportion of time spent standing decreased one week after trimming and treatment, while time spent lying down increased. Trimming plus treatment and type of hoof diseases do not change ingestive behavior but change postural behavior of dairy cows.

Key Words:
animal welfare; behavior; Bos taurus

Activity	Description
Lying	Proportion of time animals spent lying down with the left or right flank touching the ground.
Standing	Proportion of time animals spent standing still.
Walking	Proportion of time animals spent in displacement not related to food apprehension or water or going to the milking parlor.
Ruminating	Proportion of time animals spent chewing non-fresh food repeatedly.
Idling	Proportion of time animals spent without showing chewing activity.
Eating at the trough	Proportion of time animals spent selecting, prehending, and chewing food at the trough.
Grazing	Proportion of time animals spent in pasture selection, prehension, and manipulation.

Attribute¹ 1 Values are expressed as the proportion of time spent in each activity (%).	Locomotion Score				Days relative to treatment
	Low (≤3)	High (>3)	P<F	SE	−1	6	P<F	SE
Lying	32.6b	52.4a	^ P<0.01.	7.0	35.5b	49.5a	^* * P<0.05.	5.2
Lying on left side	14.7b	25.6a	^* * P<0.05.	5.5	16.4	24.0	ns	4.1
Lying on right side	17.8	26.7	^* ***** P<0.10.	4.9	19.2	25.4	ns	3.7
Standing	37.7a	23.0b	^ P<0.01.	5.9	35.3	24.4	^* ***** P<0.10.	4.4
Walking	4.6	4.3	ns	0.8	4.6	4.3	ns	0.6
Ruminating	20.1	20.5	ns	3.3	19.4	21.2	ns	2.5
Idling	50.7	53.7	ns	4.5	50.1	53.3	ns	3.4
Feeding at the trough	20.7	15.7	^* ***** P<0.10.	2.4	18.9	17.4	ns	1.8
Grazing	8.4	6.6	ns	2.1	8.4	6.6	ns	1.5

Attribute¹ 1 Values are expressed as the proportion of time spent in each activity (%).	Lesion		P<F	SE
	Infectious diseases	Non-infectious diseases	P<F	SE
Lying	35.1b	49.8a	^ P<0.01.	5.5
Lying on left side	18.2	22.1	ns	4.3
Lying on right side	16.96b	27.1a	^ P<0.01.	3.9
Standing	35.4a	25.3b	^* * P<0.05.	4.6
Walking	4.9	4.0	ns	0.6
Ruminating	21.5	19.1	ns	2.6
Idling	48.7b	55.7a	^* * P<0.05.	3.6
Feeding at the trough	19.9	16.4	^* ***** P<0.10.	1.9
Grazing	7.6	7.4	ns	1.6

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[1] * Corresponding author: vivinha.fischer@hotmail.com