As dairy cows are being housed for longer periods, with all-year-round housing growing in popularity, it is important to ensure housed environments are meeting the needs of cows. Dairy cows are motivated to access open lying areas, although previous motivation studies on this topic have confounded surface type and location (i.e. pasture outdoors vs cubicles indoors). This study measured cow motivation for lying down on an indoor open mattress (MAT; 9 m x 5 m) compared to indoor mattress-bedded cubicles, thus removing the confounding factor of surface type and location. This was repeated for an identically sized indoor deep-bedded straw yard (ST), to investigate whether surface type affected motivation for an open lying area. Thirty Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were housed in groups of 5 (n = 5 x 6) in an indoor robotic milking unit with access to six mattress-bedded cubicles. To assess motivation, cows were required to walk increasing distances via a one-way indoor raceway to access the open lying areas: Short (34.5 m), followed by Medium (80.5 m) and Long (126.5 m). Cows could choose to walk the raceway, leading to the MAT or ST, to lie down or they could lie down on the cubicles for 'free'. Overall, cows lay down for longer on the open lying areas at each distance compared to the cubicles, with cows lying down slightly longer on ST than MAT, although lying times on the open lying areas did decrease at the Long distance. However, cows were still lying for >60% of their lying time on the open lying areas at the Long distance. This study demonstrates that cows had a high motivation for an open lying area, the provision of which could better cater for the behavioural needs of housed dairy cows and improve housed dairy cow welfare.

BACKGROUND The nature and depth of bedding material have an important influence on cow lying behaviour and comfort. Increasing use of recycled manure solids (RMS) as bedding led to an investigation of the influence of this material on cow lying behaviour. METHODS Leg mounted accelerometers were used to estimate daily lying time and number and duration of lying bouts in four groups of 40 cows. Each group spent two 2-week periods on each of four bedding systems: deep sand, deep RMS, sawdust on mattresses and RMS on mattresses. RESULTS Total daily lying times were significantly shorter on both RMS treatments than on sawdust. Number of lying bouts per day was greater on sawdust than any other treatment, while lying bouts were 2.6 min longer on deep RMS and 9.3 min longer on sand, than on sawdust. CONCLUSIONS Greater depth and apparent softness of bedding material does not necessarily result in longer total daily lying times. RMS may have some characteristics that reduce its attraction as a bedding material for cows. The influence of bedding system on number and duration of lying bouts and the resulting total lying time appear complex.

As a global society, we have a duty to provide suitable care and conditions for farmed livestock to protect animal welfare and ensure the sustainability of our food supply. The suitability and biological impacts of housing conditions for intensively farmed animals is a complex and emotive subject, yet poorly researched, meaning quantitative evidence to inform policy and legislation is lacking. Most dairy cows globally are housed for some duration during the year, largely when climatic conditions are unfavourable. However, the impact on biology, productivity and welfare of even the most basic housing requirement, the quantity of living space, remains unknown. We conducted a long-term (1-year), randomised controlled trial (CONSORT 10 guidelines) to investigate the impact of increased living space (6.5 m 2 vs 3 m 2 per animal) on critical aspects of cow biology, behaviour and productivity. Adult Holstein dairy cows (n = 150) were continuously and randomly allocated to a high or control living space group with all other aspects of housing remaining identical between groups. Compared to cows in the control living space group, cows with increased space produced more milk per 305d lactation (primiparous: 12,235 L vs 11,592 L, P < 0.01; multiparous: 14,746 L vs 14,644 L, P < 0.01) but took longer to become pregnant after calving (primiparous: 155 d vs 83 d, P = 0.025; multiparous: 133 d vs 109 d). In terms of behaviour, cows with more living space spent significantly more time in lying areas (65 min/d difference; high space group: 12.43 h/day, 95% CI = 11.70–13.29; control space group: 11.42 h/day, 95% CI = 10.73–12.12) and significantly less time in passageways (64 min/d), suggesting enhanced welfare when more space was provided. A key physiological difference between groups was that cows with more space spent longer ruminating each day. This is the first long term study in dairy cows to demonstrate that increased living space results in meaningful benefits in terms of productivity and behaviour and suggests that the interplay between farmed animals and their housed environment plays an important role in the concepts of welfare and sustainability of dairy farming.

National bodies in Great Britain (GB) have expressed concern over young stock health and welfare and identified calf survival as a priority; however, no national data have been available to quantify mortality rates. The aim of this study was to quantify the temporal incidence rate, distributional features, and factors affecting variation in mortality rates in calves in GB since 2011. The purpose was to provide information to national stakeholder groups to inform resource allocation both for knowledge exchange and future research. Cattle birth and death registrations from the national British Cattle Movement Service were analyzed to determine rates of both slaughter and on-farm mortality. The number of births and deaths registered between 2011 and 2018 within GB were 21.2 and 21.6 million, respectively. Of the 3.3 million on-farm deaths, 1.8 million occurred before 24 mo of age (54%) and 818,845 (25%) happened within the first 3 mo of age. The on-farm mortality rate was 3.87% by 3 mo of age, remained relatively stable over time, and was higher for male calves (4.32%) than female calves (3.45%). Dairy calves experience higher on farm mortality rates than nondairy (beef) calves in the first 3 mo of life, with 6.00 and 2.86% mortality rates, respectively. The 0- to 3-mo death rate at slaughterhouse for male dairy calves has increased from 17.40% in 2011 to 26.16% in 2018, and has remained low (<0.5%) for female dairy calves and beef calves of both sexes. Multivariate adaptive regression spline models were able to explain a large degree of the variation in mortality rates (coefficient of determination = 96%). Mean monthly environmental temperature and month of birth appeared to play an important role in neonatal on-farm mortality rates, with increased temperatures significantly reducing mortality rates. Taking the optimal month of birth and environmental temperature as indicators of the best possible environmental conditions, maintaining these conditions throughout the year would be expected to result in a reduction in annual 0- to 3-mo mortality of 37,571 deaths per year, with an estimated economic saving of around £11.6 million (USD $15.3 million) per annum. National cattle registers have great potential for monitoring trends in calf mortality and can provide valuable insights to the cattle industry. Environmental conditions play a significant role in calf mortality rates and further research is needed to explore how to optimize conditions to reduce calf mortality rates in GB.

The introduction of bedding dairy cows on recycled manure solids (RMS) in the UK led to concern by competent authorities that there could be an increased, unacceptable risk to animal and human health. A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the microbial content of different bedding materials, when used by dairy cows, and its impact on the microbial content of milk. Data were collected from farms bedding lactating cows on sand (n = 41), sawdust (n = 44) and RMS (n = 40). The mean duration of RMS use prior to sampling was 13 months. Total bacterial count, and counts of Streptococcus/Enterococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Bacillus cereus, thermophilic, thermoduric and psychrotrophic bacteria were determined in used bedding and milk. Samples were evaluated for the presence/absence of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica. Data on milking practices were collected to investigate their potential to reduce microbial transfer from bedding to milk. There were substantial differences in bacterial counts both within and between bedding materials. However, there were no significant differences between bedding groups in counts in milk for any of the organisms studied, and no significant correlations between bacterial load in used bedding and milk. Fore-milking was associated with a reduced total bacterial count in milk. Dipping teats with disinfectant and drying, prior to milking, was associated with lower numbers of Streptococcus/Enterococcus spp. in milk. Disinfecting clusters between milking different cows was associated with a reduction in thermophilic and psychrotrophic counts in milk. This study did not provide evidence that use of RMS bedding increased the risk of presence of Y. enterocolitica, Salmonella spp. or L. monocytogenes in milk. However, the strength of this conclusion should be tempered by the relatively small number of farms on which Y. enterocolitica and Salmonella spp. were isolated. It is concluded that, despite the higher bacterial load of RMS, its use as bedding for lactating dairy cows need not be associated with a higher bacterial load in milk than the use of sand or sawdust. However, this finding must be interpreted in the light of the relatively recent introduction of RMS as a bedding material on the farms studied. Teat preparation provides a control point for the potential transfer of microorganisms from bedding to milk. The detection of zoonotic pathogens in a small proportion of milk samples, independent of bedding type, indicates that pasteurisation of milk prior to human consumption remains an important control measure.

To implement appropriate and effective disease control programs at the national level, up-to-date and unbiased information on disease frequency is needed. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of selected endemic infectious diseases in the population of dairy herds in Great Britain. Bulk milk tank (BMT) samples from 225 randomly selected dairy farms, stratified by region and herd size, were tested for antibodies against bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine herpesvirus type 1, Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis, Leptospira Hardjo, Salmonella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Fasciola hepatica, Neospora caninum, and Ostertagia ostertagi. Furthermore, the presence of BVDV, C. burnetii, and Chlamydia-like organisms was determined by PCR. The apparent herd prevalence was estimated as a weighted proportion of positive herds. The true prevalence was calculated when a test was used with known test characteristics for the cut-off value used. Among unvaccinated herds, the true prevalence of BMT antibodies against BVDV was estimated at 66% [95% confidence interval (CI): 56-77%], M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis 68% (95% CI: 59-77%), bovine herpesvirus type 1 62% (95% CI: 52-73%), Leptospira Hardjo 47% (95% CI: 34-60%), and Salmonella spp. 48% (95% CI: 39-56%). The apparent prevalence of BMT antibodies against C. burnetii was 80% (95% CI: 75-85%), F. hepatica 55% (95% CI: 48-62%), N. caninum 46% (95% CI: 38-54%), and O. ostertagi 95% (95% CI: 91-98%). The BVDV, C. burnetii, and Chlamydia-like antigens were detected in 5 (95% CI: 2-9%), 29 (95% CI: 21-36%), and 31% (95% CI: 24-38%) of herds, respectively. Our results show that dairy cows across GB are frequently exposed to the studied pathogens, which are endemic at high levels with some geographical variations. These prevalence estimates provide a much-needed basis to assess whether nationwide control programs for the studied pathogens are justified by their potential economic, environmental, and public health implications. Should surveillance and control programs be initiated, the estimates presented here are a baseline against which progress can be assessed.

Veterinary RecordVolume 180, Issue 6 p. 154-155 Letter AHDB Dairy Mastitis Control Plan Andrew Bradley, Andrew Bradley QMMS, Cedar Barn, Easton, Wells, BA5 1DUSearch for more papers by this authorJames Breen, James Breen QMMS, Cedar Barn, Easton, Wells, BA5 1DUSearch for more papers by this authorKatharine Leach, Katharine Leach QMMS, Cedar Barn, Easton, Wells, BA5 1DUSearch for more papers by this authorJenny Gibbons, Jenny Gibbons AHDB, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2TLSearch for more papers by this authorDerek Armstrong, Derek Armstrong AHDB, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2TLSearch for more papers by this authorMartin Green, Martin Green University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, LE12 5RDSearch for more papers by this author Andrew Bradley, Andrew Bradley QMMS, Cedar Barn, Easton, Wells, BA5 1DUSearch for more papers by this authorJames Breen, James Breen QMMS, Cedar Barn, Easton, Wells, BA5 1DUSearch for more papers by this authorKatharine Leach, Katharine Leach QMMS, Cedar Barn, Easton, Wells, BA5 1DUSearch for more papers by this authorJenny Gibbons, Jenny Gibbons AHDB, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2TLSearch for more papers by this authorDerek Armstrong, Derek Armstrong AHDB, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2TLSearch for more papers by this authorMartin Green, Martin Green University of Nottingham, Leicestershire, LE12 5RDSearch for more papers by this author First published: 11 February 2017 https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.j680Citations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume180, Issue6February 2017Pages 154-155 RelatedInformation

The time that dairy cows spend lying down is an important measure of their comfort and lameness and injuries to hocks and knees are associated with alterations in lying time. We examined whether automated measures of lying time could identify cows and farms with problems of lameness or leg lesions. Data were collected from 40 lactating Holstein dairy cows from each of 100 tie-stall farms. The occurrence of lameness, hock and knee injuries was recorded and lying times were recorded automatically using accelerometers. There was large variation between individual cows, and between farms in all measures of lying time. At the cow level, there was no relationship (P > 0.10) between being lame and daily duration of lying time. A lower daily duration of lying time was found among cows with hock injuries (mean SE: non-injured = 12.79 +/- 0.06 h, injured = 12.21 +/- 10.06 h; P < 0.001) and cows with knee injuries (mean +/- SE: non-injured = 12.54 +/- 0.05 h, injured =12.25 +/- 0.06 h; P = 0.04) than those without lesions. The median daily duration of lying time on a farm was negatively correlated with the prevalence of lameness (r(p) = -0.27,P = 0.006), of hock injuries (r(p) = -0.35, P = 0.003) and of knee injuries (r(p) = -0.28, P = 0.004). A canonical discriminant function with canonical coefficients of 0.63 for mean daily duration of lying down, and of 0.54 for mean bout frequency could correctly identify 72% of the farms that were above the median for percent of cows with hock or knee injuries or being lame (linear discriminant function: constant = -95.10, daily duration = 11.39, bout frequency = 4.83) and 68% of the farms below the median (linear discriminant function: constant = -106.95, daily duration = 11.92, bout frequency = 5.30) (Wills Lambda test P = 0.002). A criterion of a median lying time between 12 h and 13 h alone could identify over 60% of farms above or below the median for lameness, hock and knee lesion prevalence. Automated measures of lying time may be a useful animal-based measure to indicate farms with a high percentage of lame cows or cows with leg lesions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We compared 2 methods for identifying lame cows and estimating the prevalence of lameness in tiestalls. Cows (n = 320) in 9 tiestall herds were scored as lame both by the presence of limping while walking and by stall lameness scores (SLS). The SLS was based on the number of the following behaviors that the cow showed while standing in the tiestall: weight shifting, standing on the edge of the stall, uneven weight bearing while standing, and uneven weight bearing while moving from side to side. Two observers watched video-recordings of the cows. Intraobserver agreements for the 4 SLS behaviors ranged from 92 to 100%, and interobserver agreement ranged from 81 to 100%. The overall prevalence of lameness based on an SLS of ≥2 was similar to that of limping (39 vs. 40%). The sensitivity of the classification based on the SLS was 0.63 and the specificity was 0.77 in identifying cows with a limp; accuracy varied across farms from 62.2 to 80.4%, with a mean of 71.7%. A cow with an SLS of ≥2 had 4.88 times the odds of limping than a cow with an SLS of <2. The prevalence of lameness on farms based on SLS was highly correlated with the prevalence of limping (Pearson correlation = 0.88; n = 9), and prevalence estimates from the 2 methods diverged most when the mean herd prevalence was lower. The SLS method provides an estimate of the prevalence of lameness in tiestall herds comparable with traditional gait scoring, but does not require that the cows be untied. The SLS method could be used to improve lameness detection on tiestall farms and obtain estimates of lameness prevalence without the need to walk the cows.

Lying behaviour is a useful indicator of cow comfort, but can be time consuming to measure. Data loggers are commonly used to automatically record behavioural activity but may influence the animal's behaviour. We investigated the effect of a new model of the IceTag data logger (IceTag Sensor, IceRobotics© Ltd, Edinburgh, UK) on lying behaviour of forty dairy cows. Smaller Hobo® Pendant G data loggers (Onset Computer Corporation, Pocasset, MA) were attached to the hindlegs of all cows balanced for left and right and measured total duration of lying time, frequency and mean duration of lying bouts and the percent of time lying down on each side. Sixteen cows were semi-randomly split into two groups depending on the position of the IceTags on the inside of the leg (medial) or the outside (lateral). Each cow experienced four treatments in a Latin square design: no IceTag data logger attached as a control (C); one IceTag data logger on the left hind leg (L), one IceTag data logger on the right hind leg (R), and a IceTag data logger on both hind legs (B). Each treatment lasted for 6 days. As part of a separate study, lying laterality data from 24 cows with an IceTag data logger attached to the lateral part of each hindleg was used. On average, cows (n=39) spent 47.5% of their time lying on the right side during a 24-h period. However, there was a large variation of time spent lying on the right side ranging from 25.1% to 65.7%. There was no significant effect of IceTag location (medial or lateral) or treatment (C, L, R, B) on total lying time, frequency of lying time, duration of lying bouts or percentage of time lying on each side. In summary, IceTags did not affect lying behaviour in dairy cows, allowing them to be reliably used in research as a high tech tool to measure activity. Overall as a group, cows show no preference for lying on one particular side, but individual cows do show a distinct preference.

Dairy cattle have a high level of interaction with humans throughout their productive life. Welfare and productivity are affected if cows find these interactions aversive, so tests assessing fear of humans have been included in welfare assessment protocols. Practicality issues suggest that all animals on large farms cannot be tested. If a sub-sample is chosen, then animal factors affecting the response must be investigated. To assess the effect of age, 114 Holstein cows were tested at regular intervals across their productive lifetime. Animals were tested at 12-15 months of age, first breeding, prior to first calving, then at early, mid and late lactation for 1st and 2nd lactations and into their 3rd lactation. The test involved approaching each cow when standing in the passageway of the barn with sufficient space to retreat. Response was recorded on a 0-8 incremental scale, and several qualitative terms were scored using sliding scales from absence to full presence. There was a significant effect of age on response. Cows became more approachable with increasing age, up until the middle of the first lactation, with no further change beyond this stage. Cows became more at ease and less nervous with increasing age. Individual cow within-group rankings for tests at each stage showed correlation with rankings in the following stage. As this is a single-farm study, further research is necessary to assess interaction of factors such as housing, breed and quality of human handling on the long-term development of fear of humans. However, he results suggest that the age of the animal tested affects the response, and that animals of different age groups should be tested when a sub-sampling is required to assess welfare on large farms.

Flight speed (FS) is an objective measure of the behavioural response to handling procedures in beef cattle but to date there is no published work on dairy cattle. It is useful to determine whether there is consistency in FS in dairy cattle, and assess the relationship between FS and other subjective measures of responsiveness in dairy cattle. The aims of this study were to: (a) evaluate the repeatability of the FS and crush score (CS) test in dairy cattle by repeated measurements and (b) examine the correlation of FS and CS with reactivity responses in a human approach test (HAT). FS and CS measurements for 55 Holstein–Friesian heifers were conducted three times at 4-week intervals. Flight response to a HAT was assessed in the passageway of the home-pen on a subset of 33 animals. On completion of the HAT, an assessment of six qualitative terms (at ease, friendly, bold, docile, shy, fearful and nervous) were assessed on a visual analogue scale according to a subjective judgement of whether a cow scored low or high for each term. Correlations between the three monthly repetitions of FS measurements were all significant and positive (FS1,2: rs=0.36, P=0.007; FS2,3: rs=0.31, P=0.002; FS1,3: rs=0.47, P<0.001) which indicates a level of individual consistency. No significant correlations between the three monthly repetitions of CS measurements were found. The mean FS was correlated with HAT flight response (rs=0.42, P=0.004). However, no significant correlations existed between the HAT and the CS. In conclusion, the results suggest that both HAT and FS measurements provide consistent (both intra- and inter-measure) assessments of temperament under these handling situations in dairy cows.

The extension of the concept of temperament to livestock dates back as far as the beginning of the twentieth century. Temperament in livestock has been shown to influence productivity, survival, ease of handling, and handler safety. A variety of terms are used to refer to different aspects of temperament (or personality) traits in livestock. Despite the variety of definitions and adjectives used, the underlying principle that animals behave in consistent ways over time and situations is the main defining characteristic of a trait. In this chapter, we explore the motivations behind the desire to assess livestock temperament. We review and summarize fearfulness, a major trait that has been widely studied in livestock to describe the complexities inherent in measuring aspects of temperament. We highlight the importance of temperament from economic and welfare viewpoints and illustrate with a number of studies that have demonstrated links between temperament and production. Finally, we evaluate the constraints of breeding for temperament traits and discuss what the future may hold in this area.

Sociability is the relative preference of individual animals to seek out close contact with conspecifics. The aim of this study was to develop suitable tests that could be used to measure the sociability of individual cows on commercial farms. A standardised runway test was used as a “gold standard” test of social motivation and was repeated three times on 46 focal cows. In the runway test, the average latency to reach 5m and 2m from the herd and the time spent in these areas were recorded and analysed for repeatability. Latency to reach the 5m line over the three tests was the most repeatable variable (0.54) and was taken as a measure of social motivation against which to assess other measures of sociability shown by the cows in their home-pen. The home-pen measures were the distance of each cow to the two nearest neighbours, location of the cow in the cow shed, and the level of synchrony based on individual behaviour of each focal cow compared with the rest of the herd's behaviour. Cows that had high latencies to reach the 5m line had fewer recordings with two near neighbours (W1=5.31, P=0.021), were less synchronised with the herd (W1=4.82, P=0.028), were not present at the feedface during peak feeding (W1=4.13, P=0.042) and stood at the periphery of the cow shed (W1=4.03, P=0.045). These results indicate that these measures could be used to assess the sociability of individual dairy cows in on-farm studies.

This study investigated intra-test and inter-test consistency of dairy cattle behavioural responses to a series of tests involving human approach and exposure to novelty. Thirty-six lactating Holstein–Friesian cows were each subjected to three human approach tests and three novel stimuli tests. Flight response score was assessed by an experimenter approaching cows when they were in the passageway of the home-pen (AP), lying down (AL) and at the feedface (FF). Each human approach test was repeated on each cow three times. The intra-animal repeatability estimates were 0.65, 0.40, 0.27 for AP, AL and FF tests, respectively. Repeatability evaluates an individual's consistency across tests by comparing it to the variation within the group. Cows showed moderate consistency in their flight response scores to the different approach tests (W35=0.56, P<0.01). Three novel stimuli (water spray, striped boards and flashing light) were individually presented once to each cow. Investigatory and reactivity behavioural responses were assessed. Cows showed the greatest reactivity response to the water spray compared to the striped boards (U1=56, P<0.001) and flashing light (U1=66, P<0.001). No statistically significant agreement existed between the novel stimuli reactivity and investigatory responses with the AP flight response scores. In conclusion, consistency over time was demonstrated over a relatively short period for the AP test and consistency between human approach situations was shown, however, consistency between human and novel situations was not found.

This study tests the two main characteristics of a temperament trait, consistency across time and consistency across situations. The temperament trait of interest was aggressiveness during feeding in dairy cattle. In this study, we focused on whether it is possible to infer a trait of aggressiveness from the measurement of behavioural responses expressed by individual cows during feeding. Aggressive behaviour appears in many contexts but this paper focuses on aggressive behaviour in a competitive situation over a feed resource in housed dairy cattle. It is important that we fully understand within-cow consistency of aggressiveness in different competitive and social situations. To achieve this the following questions were investigated: (1) are cows consistent in how they express aggressive behaviour over time? (2) and across situations at a standard and reduced (competitive) feedface? The aim of this study was to measure the behavioural reactions of housed dairy cattle during feeding in a way that can be practically and easily recorded on commercial farms. Ten primiparous and 30 multiparous healthy lactating cows were housed in a group (parity=3.5±2.15; mean±S.D.). The behaviour of the aggressor and recipient was recorded for each aggressive interaction for 60min after feed arrival. Repeatability estimates and Kendall's coefficient of concordance were both used to assess consistency of aggressor and recipient behaviours across time. The within-cow repeatability was highest for ‘aggressive index’ (r=0.31) and lowest for non-response behaviours (r=0.04) across time. Individual's responses to the standard and reduced feedface were significantly correlated for contact and non-contact behaviours. These results highlight the complexity of aggressive style of cows during feeding and illustrate that some measures of aggressive feeding behaviour are repeatable within cows.