| 1. |
- Alfredius, Hanna, et al.
(författare)
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Temperature and humidity affects dairy cows' willingness to be on pasture
- 2010
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- When cattle are kept outside during the winter in Sweden the management is regulated trough the animal protection law regarding provision of shelter. This is, however, not the case during the summer grazing period. The effect of temperature humidity index (THI, mean 60.5, range 32.5 – 77.4) on dairy cows willingness to be on pasture was examined. Four years of information from Kungsängens Research farm regarding milk production and time for passing a gate between the barn and pasture of dairy cows milked in an AMS were studied. In total the production (average 26.8 kg milk/day) and behaviour data from 143 Swedish Red cows spread over lactation 1 to 6 was analysed for time spend on pasture and daily milk production in relation to THI. The cows could move freely between the barn and pasture, which were situated around the barn (between 50-260 m from the barn to the entrance of the pasture) and they were fed concentrate according to milk production in the barn. Weather data (temperature and humidity) was collected from a weather station 3 km from the barn. On average the cows spent 7:48 hr on pasture during 24 hrs. The duration spent outdoors was affected by the daily maximum THI and the time decreased with 2:25 min when THI increased with 1 (P<0.001). An increase in maximum temperature on its own did also negatively affect the duration the cows spent on pasture and for each 1 degree increase in maximum temperature the cows spent 2:31 min less on pasture per day (P<0.001). A high daily mean THI did not affect the milk production on the same day, but it negatively affected the milk production two days after with 0.026 kg when mean THI increased with 1 (P<0.01). These results show that even under Swedish conditions heat stress might negatively affect dairy cow and an increase in temperature and humidity might be associated to a decrease in time spent on pastures and a lower milk production. However more refined studies are needed in order to answer this question more thoroughly
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| 2. |
- Axel-Nilsson, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Perceived relevance of selected behavioural traits in horses - A survey conducted in Sweden
- 2015
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Ingår i: Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Science. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0906-4702 .- 1651-1972. ; 65, s. 23-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the present study, a web-based questionnaire was used with the aim to investigate perceived relevance of 14 behavioural traits in horses regarding quality of match between horse and rider. The responses of approximately 2800 participants indicate a high interest in the topic. All traits were considered relevant by at least 50% of the respondents. 'Easy to bring to new environments' was the trait indicated as relevant by the highest proportion (85%) of respondents, followed by 'spirited and forward' (84%) and 'tolerant towards humans' (80%). Respondents' age as well as preferred equitation discipline was shown to have a profound influence on perception of relevance (P < 0.05). The results suggest a need for methods to objectively evaluate individual differences in behavioural traits to enable selection of horses to optimize horse-rider match.
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| 3. |
- Blokhuis, Harry, et al.
(författare)
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Use of animal based measures for the assessment of dairy cow welfare ANIBAM
- 2014
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Ingår i: EFSA Journal. - 1831-4732.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The overall aim of the project was to evaluate the use of routinely collected animal based measures (ABMs) for an evaluation of the overall animal welfare in dairy cow herds. ABMs being able to detect worst adverse effects in relation to animal welfare were identified based on the existing literature and expert opinion. The validity and robustness of these ABMs were evaluated and cow mortality, somatic cell count and lameness were selected for further study. A number of factors of variation were selected using expert opinion and used in a model to collate routinely collected data from Italy, Belgium and Denmark on selected ABMs. The routinely collected data was uploaded to the Data Collection Framework platform at EFSA and the data management in this process was evaluated. Five research datasets from Italy, Belgium, Denmark and France including information on ABMs as well as a measure of 'overall animal welfare' at herd level were analysed to evaluate the association between the ABMs (individually or in combination) and overall welfare. The measure of 'overall animal welfare' were not the same for all datasets. Except from the Italian data, the association between the ABMs and the different overall welfare measures were generally weak. Likewise, combining more than one ABM only improved the prediction of the overall welfare in the Italian dataset. Analyses of the other datasets could not confirm this finding. Finally, suggestions for future recordings of ABMs not routinely collected at the moment were given with a special focus on lameness. In conclusion, the relationship between selected ABMs and overall welfare at the herd level is complex and still not sufficiently studied. Therefore, a system using routinely collected ABMs to predict the overall welfare at herd level in dairy herds does not seem realistic based on the results from the present study.
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| 4. |
- Churakov, Mikhail, et al.
(författare)
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Parity and days in milk affect cubicle occupancy in dairy cows
- 2021
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Ingår i: Applied Animal Behaviour Science. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0168-1591 .- 1872-9045. ; 244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modern dairy cattle farms are usually equipped with cubicle systems to provide cows with comfortable conditions for lying down and resting. Cows are free to choose any cubicle they want, but in reality, they do not distribute themselves uniformly throughout the barn. There are many factors that affect where a cow lies down, such as hierarchy of a cow, access to resources, cow traffic nearby, etc. In this study, we used real-time location system data from two commercial farms to examine patterns of cubicle occupancy in relation to parity and lactation stage. We summarized cubicle occupancy over several days and compared different areas of the barn. Our findings suggest that, in general, there was a higher occupancy of cubicles close to the feeding areas. High parity cows lay down more frequently in cubicles close to the milking area as opposed to first lactation cows that tend to occupy less busy areas of the barn. The overall conclusion is that cubicle occupancy is not uniform throughout the barn, and patterns related to parity and DIM are seen. This information can be important for future studies on spread of diseases and for management purposes. © 2021 The Authors
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| 5. |
- Edman, Frida, et al.
(författare)
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Potential to reduce climate impact with digitalisation in agriculture – literature review and a case study of milk
- 2021
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The agricultural sector in Sweden needs to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Digitalisation has the potential to contribute to this reduction. The term digitalisation is used to describe a process for digital transformation of products and processes. The purpose is to enable better decisions by using an increased insight through collecting data, and to process the collected data using different smart algorithms. In this report, we present a literature review on research of the potential to reduce climate impact with digitalisation in agriculture. The result of the literature review was applied on a case study, where different scenarios with varying degrees of digitalisation were tested to quantify possible reductions in GHG emissions when introducing digitalisation techniques at a Swedish dairy farm. The results shows that implementation of various digitalisation technologies at a Swedish dairy farm has a potential to reduce the carbon footprint of Swedish milk by 16 %. Precision livestock farming shows the largest potential with an estimated reduction of 14 %, primarily due to feed efficiency and improved animal health and longevity, reducing the total number of animals while maintaining high milk output. It is however important to evaluate the whole system, as changes in the dairy system might impact other farms and food producing systems. This indicates a need for research to further investigate the potential GHG reduction when introducing digitalisation in agriculture.
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| 6. |
- Hansson, I, et al.
(författare)
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Cow characteristics associated with the variation in number of contacts between dairy cows
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Dairy Science. - : Elsevier Inc.. - 0022-0302 .- 1525-3198. ; 106:4, s. 2685-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In modern freestall barns where large groups of cows are housed together, the behavior displayed by herd mates can influence the welfare and production of other individuals. Therefore, understanding social interactions in groups of dairy cows is important to enhance herd management and optimize the outcomes of both animal health and welfare in the future. Many factors can affect the number of social contacts in a group. This study aimed to identify which characteristics of a cow are associated with the number of contacts it has with other group members in 2 different functional areas (feeding and resting area) to increase our understanding of the social behavior of dairy cows. Inside 2 herds housed in freestall barns with around 200 lactating cows each, cow positions were recorded with an ultra-wideband real-time location system collecting all cows' positions every second over 2 wk. Using the positioning data of the cows, we quantified the number of contacts between them, assuming that cows spending time in proximity to one another (within a distance of 2.5 m for at least 10 min per day) were interacting socially. We documented in which barn areas these interactions occurred and used linear mixed models to investigate if lactation stage, parity, breed, pregnancy status, estrus, udder health, and claw health affect the number of contacts. We found variation in the number of contacts a cow had between individuals in both functional areas. Cows in later lactation had more contacts in the feeding area than cows in early lactation. Furthermore, in one herd, higher parity cows had fewer contacts in the feeding area than first parity cows, and in the other herd, cows in third parity or higher had more contacts in the resting area. This study indicates that cow characteristics such as parity and days in milk are associated with the number of contacts a cow has daily to its herd mates and provides useful information for further research on social interactions of dairy cows.
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| 7. |
- Hartmann, Elke, et al.
(författare)
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From the horse’s perspective : Investigating attachment behaviour and the effect of training method on fear reactions and ease of handling—a pilot study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animals. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-2615. ; 11:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study investigated equine responses to novelty and handling, aiming to reveal whether horse–human relationships reflect criteria of an attachment bond. Twelve adult Standardbreds were subjected to a fear-eliciting test (novel objects presented close to two humans) and a handling test (being led passing novel objects) to study attachment-related behaviours and ease of handling. The tests were performed both before (pre-test) and after (post-test) horses had been trained by the same female handler (10 sessions of 15 min). Horses were assigned to three groups of four, each of which underwent different operant conditioning protocols: negative reinforcement (NR; pressure, release of lead, and whip tap signals) or combined NR with either positive reinforcement using food (PRf) or wither scratching (PRs). Results showed that neither familiarity of the person nor training method had a significant impact on the horses’ behavioural responses in the post-tests. However, horses showed decreased heart rates between pre-and post-tests, which may indicate habituation, an effect of training per se, or that the presence of the familiar trainer served to calm the horses during the challenging situations. There were large individual variations among the horses’ responses and further studies are needed to increase our understanding of horse–human relationships. © 2021 by the authors.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Lind, Ann-Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Strategisk samverkan mellan lantbrukare och teknikföretag inom mjölkproduktionen
- 2023
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Strategic collaborations between farmers and technology companies to extend the benefits of technical solutions for improved animal production Over the past 50 years, we have seen an increased use of technological solutions in agriculture to monitor animal health, welfare and productivity. The increase in milk production and herd size place great demands on animal health and regular monitoring of all individual animals, to ensure that production is optimal while maintaining good animal welfare. This is very time-consuming, so farmers' interest in digital technology solutions is increasing. This development should facilitate and streamline agriculture. However, many farmers feel that the companies that develop technology do not always have knowledge of the needs and requirements they have for a technical or digital tool. In addition, companies need to collaborate more on sharing data, to avoid, for example, parallel work in several technical solutions. Within the project, we have identified several areas where there is consensus, but also areas where the opinions between farmers and technology companies differ. There was a consensus between farmers and technology companies that personal relationships are a key factor in the industry, and affect, for example, investment decision-making. Furthermore, there was also a consensus that there is a need for actors to be able to meet in some forum to discuss issues such as technology development and data sharing on a regular basis. The parties were considered to have different views on what makes a technology successful and how user dialogue should be handled. One issue where the farmers' opinions differed was the availability outside of working hours, where some felt that it provided increased control and thus a sense of calm, while others considered it as a direct stress factor and a feeling of never leaving the workplace. Several of the technology suppliers expressed that they were interested in developing their collaboration with other technology companies, while others considered it a strength to only work with their own products to ensure the quality of their offering. The project has generated knowledge exchange between actors in the industry. Farmers and technology companies have been given the opportunity to give their views on how to create a dialogue about needs and opportunities for the development of new technical solutions. The results show that all participants see a benefit in increased collaboration, but that the path to get there is not clearly marked out and there is a need for an independent party that initiates collaboration and leads the dialogue.
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| 10. |
- Malmqvist, Erik, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Transeminariet 2004 : Begreppet hälsa
- 2004
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Ingår i: Svensk veterinärtidning. - 0346-2250. ; 10, s. 25-27
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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