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Impact of elastic stall partitions on tied dairy cows’ behaviour and stall cleanliness
Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92 (2009) 154–157
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Preventive Veterinary Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/prevetmed
Short communication
Impact of elastic stall partitions on tied dairy cows’ behaviour and stall cleanliness Andres Aland a,*, Lena Lidfors b, Ingvar Ekesbo b a
Department of Animal Health and Environment, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, 51014 Tartu, Estonia b Department of Animal Environment and Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 234, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Article history: Received 20 December 2007 Received in revised form 3 July 2009 Accepted 18 July 2009
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of soft elastic stall partitions on the positions in own or neighbouring stalls by dairy cows, faeces and urine, and of contact between animal and partition. There were two designs of a soft elastic partition, here called I-partition and l-partition. The study was performed on a commercial dairy herd where the partitions had been developed. After clinical examination 16 lactating cows were selected and used as focal animals, and paired for video recordings. The animals were placed, according to their size, on stalls with different breadths and lengths. Each pair of focal animals was video recorded continuously for 9 days according to the following sequence: (1) with partition 3 24 h; (2) without partition 3 24 h; (3) with partition again 3 24 h. Before each such session each focal pair was again clinically examined. Behaviours were analysed per hour, summarised per 24 h and analysed with a mixed linear model or Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. Without partitions more urine (p < 0.05) and faeces (p < 0.05) landed on the neighbouring cow’s stall and the time standing 458 to the manger was longer (p < 0.01), whereas the time standing 908 to the manger was shorter (p < 0.01). Without partitions three out of the 16 cows were standing and three were lying parallel to the manger. Presence or absence of partitions did not influence the total lying time per 24 h. Cows with the l-partition defecated more seldom in neighbouring stalls than cows with the I-partition (p < 0.01). It is concluded that without partitions between tied animals more eliminations on neighbouring stalls and more deviations from the 908 position in relation to the manger occurred. This seems to be the first experimental study of how partitions influence the behaviour of tied cattle and the results support the general advice that tied cattle should have partitions. ß 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dairy cows Tie stalls Stall partitions Behaviour Urination Defecation
1. Introduction General advice to have partitions on both sides of tied cattle is often given in order to prevent disturbances or intrusions by neighbouring animals and to prevent stalls from getting dirty by droppings from neighbouring
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +372 7313221; fax: +372 7313706. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Aland). 0167-5877/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2009.07.007
animals (e.g. Bakken, 1978). The motive is to avoid intrusion by adjacent animals which could cause traumatic injuries and cause animals to get dirty through manure and urine. However, no experimental or epidemiological studies showing the efficiency of partitions seem to have been published. Indirect evidence is that more cases of mastitis have been reported when partitions were missing (Klastrup, 1978). Traditional partitions are usually constructed of iron pipes, either as an upside down ‘‘U’’ shape with the ends
A. Aland et al. / Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92 (2009) 154–157
fixed in the stall floor, or L-shaped with one end fixed in the floor and the other in the manger. However, the solid construction involves risks for the stockman becoming squeezed or might injure sick cows that are not able to rise. Some farmers hesitate to install partitions or install them only between every second cow. A farmer in Sweden therefore, for his tied dairy cattle herd, constructed two types of soft and elastic partitions. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the presence or absence of these two types of partition, here called type I and type l, influenced the cows’ intrusive and eliminative behaviour in neighbouring stalls, and to find out if one of the designs had any advantage over the other. 2. Material and methods 2.1. Animals, housing and management The study was performed in a Swedish commercial dairy herd with 50 cows of the Swedish Red (SR) and Swedish Friesian (SF) breed. The cows were tied with cross-chain ties at the manger, and there were two parallel mangers equipped with lockable feeding barriers between stalls and manger. The barriers were open during feeding and locked during resting periods when the animals could eat the uncut oat straw used as bedding. At the manger there were 23 stalls per side with a breadth of 105–120 cm and a length of 202–210 cm. The farmer placed each animal according to its size on the different stall sizes. The gutters behind the stalls were 50 cm wide and 20 cm deep. The stalls were regularly cleaned and manure and soiled bedding put into the gutter before each milking and before the morning and evening spreading of new bedding, and at about 22:00 h with the last daily check of the animals. When dirty cows were discovered they were immediately cleaned with a brush. 2.2. Stall partitions The partitions, made of elastic nylon cloth straps, consisted of an upper and a lower part connected about 1 m above the floor with a ring and fixed stretched vertically between the ceiling and the floor between two stalls (Fig. 1). The upper part was 4 cm broad and the lower 10 cm broad. Whereas type I just formed a vertical band type l was like an upside down ‘‘Y’’. The type I was fixed to the floor 115 cm from the feeding barrier, the fore strap or
155
‘‘leg’’ of type l was fixed to the floor 100 cm and the rear 150 cm from the feeding barrier. 2.3. Experimental design In order to select the most suitable cows for the behavioural observations the following information was recorded for all cows: age, size, lactation number, milk production, clinical health, disease history, breast width, temperament and other behavioural characteristics. Simultaneously a clinical examination was made on: condition of visible mucous membranes, body temperature, heart rate, breathing frequency, rumination frequency, frequency of elimination, status of the skin (sensitivity, scratches and abrasions), body condition and nutritional condition, shape of joints and hooves, condition of udder and teats. Considering these parameters 16 focal cows were selected. Prior to each 3 24 h video recording session each focal animal was again clinically examined. For the focal animals no health problems were discovered at any of the health checks. The focal cows selected were 15 SR and one SF cow (nine in first lactation, seven in 2nd–5th lactations). The cows were selected as pairs standing next to each other and so that four pairs had the I-partition between each pair and four pairs had the l-partition between each pair. On the other side of a pair there was no partition; in this way there was a partition between every second cow in the barn. In order to avoid bias because of cow size related to stall size the animal size determined the stall size chosen for each pair of focal animals. There was a significant positive correlation between stall width and breast width for cows with the l-partition (p < 0.05, r = 0.79, n = 8), but not for cows with the I-partition (n.s., r = 0.58, n = 8; Spearman rank correlation). The behaviour was recorded by video cameras equipped with infrared light fixed under the ceiling behind the animals, covering the focal pair and the two neighbouring animals and stalls, partitions, gutters, feeding barrier and manger. Cameras were moved between pairs of cows over 16 weeks in order to video record all pairs. The time-lapse method with one picture per second was used, and this method made it possible to record the exact time for each event. In order to test the effect of having partitions or not each pair of focal animals was recorded continuously over nine days according to the following sequence: (1) with
Fig. 1. Drawing of the two designs of elastic stall partitions: (A) I-partition and (B) l-partition.
156
A. Aland et al. / Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92 (2009) 154–157
partition 3 24 h; (2) without partition 3 24 h; (3) with partition again 3 24 h. Additionally four of the focal cows were video recorded for another 9 24 h periods split up into the same three periods as above with partitions on both sides. Each video cassette was analysed per hour, the recordings noted down on pro forma and later computerized. All behavioural recordings were made by the same observer. All events of urination and defecation and where deposited were recorded. The duration of the following behaviours were recorded: standing and lying in five different positions to the manger (458, 908 to the left or right, parallel to the left or right) and contact with partition during standing and lying. Health disorders observed in the herd during recording were reported daily by the farmer on a herd health form (Ekesbo, 1992). 2.4. Statistical analysis Data were analysed using the statistical package SAS (version 9.1, Statistical Analysis Systems Inc., Cary, USA). Data was tested for normality, and if so was analysed with a mixed linear model (PROC MIXED) where the model tested for the effects of design of partition (I-partitions or l-partitions) and their presence and absence (three periods) and cow being random and repeated. The effect of day (within period) was also included in the original model, but as it did not have any significant effect on any parameters tested it was removed from the model. If data were not normally distributed the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test was used to test the effect of different partitions. In the results and discussion we present the F-value when the Proc Mixed model has been used and the Z-value when the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test has been used. Spearman Rank correlation was used to test if there were correlations between stall breadth and breast width of animals. Pvalues of less than 0.05 were considered significant. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Urination and defecation There were a significantly higher number of recordings of urine and faeces landing on the neighbouring cow’s stall without than with partitions (Fig. 2). However, pair-wise comparison between no partition and partition before or partition after was not significantly different for either defecation or urination. There was a significant effect of partitions on the number of times cows defecated half in the gutter and half in their stall (p < 0.05, F = 3.71, mean number = 1.69 with partition, 2.40 without partition, 2.44 with partition). These effects of using partitions on the stall cleanliness are important as constant contact with manure is an important risk factor for hoof disorders (Ekesbo, 1966; Bergsten and Herlin, 1996; Manske et al., 2002) and also for udder infections (e.g. Smith et al., 1985; Hogan and Smith, 2003). Cows with the l-partition were recorded defecating more often on their own stall than cows with the I-
Fig. 2. Mean number of recordings (SE) per 24 h of dairy cows depositing urine and faeces in neighbouring stalls with partition on one side for 3 days, no partition for 3 days and partition on one side returned for 3 days (urine: p < 0.05, F = 3.97, faeces: p < 0.05, F = 4.96, n = 16).
partition (p < 0.01, F = 10.94, 7.56 times/24 h vs. 4.82 times/24 h). However, this was confounded by stall length as cows with the l-partition had stall lengths of 210 cm and cows with the I-partition had stall lengths of 202 cm. As the cows on the longer stalls get more manure on their own stalls this is support for the l-partition being considered more efficient than the I-partition. During feeding time, the animals were more excited and made many movements. It was also observed that some cows with a partition on one side or without partition were soiled by faeces deposited in their own stalls by neighbouring cows. Nearly one-third of the defecations occurred while lying (Aland et al., 2002). 3.2. Position on stall and contact with partitions The time standing 458 to the manger was longer (p < 0.01, F = 5.58) and the time standing 908 to the manger per 24 h was shorter (p < 0.01, F = 4.85) without partitions. A similar pattern was observed for cows having partitions on both sides (Table 1), but as there were only four cows with partitions on both sides they were not included in the statistical analysis. It was observed that an adjacent cow often intruded on the focal cow’s stall both without partitions and with partitions on one side. In the period without partitions standing parallel with the manger was recorded on three of the 16 cows and when I-partition was put back on one side it was recorded on one cow. Lying parallel with the manger was recorded on three cows both with I-partition on one side and without partitions. No cows with partitions on both sides lay parallel to the manger. The results of the study underline the need for having partitions on both sides. When cows are moving to stand 458 to the manger the risk is increased Table 1 Mean duration ( SE) in min per 24 h of standing 458 or 908 to the manger in cows having partition on one side (n = 16) and cows having partitions on both sides (n = 4). Degree to manger
With partitions
Without partitions
With partitions
One side 458 Both sides 458 One side 908 Both sides 908
190.7 17.02 169.2 23.41 559.9 20.00 548.5 10.63
225.8 17.02 194.2 14.46 523.0 20.00 567.2 33.07
214.6 17.02 146.7 30.50 537.9 20.00 578.3 12.65
A. Aland et al. / Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92 (2009) 154–157
for trampling the teats of neighbouring lying cows, for hindering the neighbouring cow from lying down, and for faeces and urine deposition on the neighbouring cows’ stalls. The consequences of teat tramp and exposure to manure are described in several studies. The most prominent risk factor for mastitis is tramped teats (Ekesbo, 1966; Bendixen et al., 1988a,b), and without partitions between stalls cows can intrude on each other’s stalls and thereby increase the risk of trampling the teats of lying neighbouring cows. Constant contact with manure is reported to be an important risk factor for hoof disorders (Ekesbo, 1966; Bergsten and Herlin, 1996; Manske et al., 2002) and udder infections via dirty lying areas (e.g. Smith et al., 1985; Hogan and Smith, 2003). Both udder and hoof disorders are responsible for a large portion of the economic losses caused by dairy cow diseases (Wells et al., 1998). Tests of bias caused by day or period showed that there were no significant effects of day on standing 458 (n.s., F = 1.48) or 908 (n.s., F = 1.11) to the manger and no significant effects of the interaction between period and day on standing 458 (n.s., F = 0.74) or 908 (n.s., F = 1.81) to the manger. The cows had a longer duration of being in contact with a partition when they were lying than when they were standing (Table 2). During lying cows having an I-partition had a tendency to have a longer duration of contact with the partition than cows having a l-partition (Table 2), probably because the broadest part of the belly was in closer proximity to the I-partition. During standing there was no significant difference in duration of contact between partition designs (Table 2). This new design of partition is softer and more flexible than the traditional Lshaped or U-shaped type. That traditional steel pipe partitions exert pressure on the skin as well as the dermis has been shown through the findings of subcutaneous haemorrhages caused by steel partitions in cows exposed to manure gas (Bengtsson et al., 1965). 3.3. Lying time The total lying time per 24 h was not influenced by presence or absence of partitions (n.s., F = 0.04, n = 16), or by partition type (n.s., F = 0.43, n = 16). Cows lay for a mean duration of 11 h 28 min (688.4 min 28.25 SE, n = 16). Cows with the I-partition lay on average 12 h and 12 min per 24 h (771 min, n = 8) and cows with l-partition lay on average 11 h and 6 min per 24 h (666 min, n = 8). In previous studies tied dairy cows were found to lay for 8–13 h (Krohn and Munksgaard, 1993; Haley et al., 2001; Rushen et al., Table 2 Duration of contact with different types of partitions during lying and standing in tied dairy cows (I-partition n = 8, l-partition n = 8). Lying was tested for significant effects of partition with analysis of variance, and standing was tested for differences between partitions with the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Behaviour
I-partition
l-Partition
p-Value
Statistical value
Lying Standing
416.4 35.77 146.5 59.13
313.2 44.62 69.8 20.45
p < 0.10 n.s.
F = 3.72 Z = 0.4726
157
2007). The majority of the cows were lying at the same time indicating that herd behaviour synchronization existed. Haley et al. (2001) did not find as much synchronization in their study. While resting most of the animals lay for 2 or 3 h at a time. Then they stood and thereafter lay down on their other side. 4. Conclusions This study indicates that partitions reduce possibilities for adjacent animals to encroach the stall and for urine and faeces from neighbouring animals to be deposited there. The comparisons between I- and l-partitions indicated that l-partitions were more efficient than I-partitions. The results of this experimental study for the first time give scientific support for the common veterinary advice to farmers that partitions should be used and used on both sides. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the owner and personnel at Fa˚rdala farm for their cooperation during the experiments and Mr. K. Staaf and Mrs. G. Jacobsson for technical assistance. The Swedish Institute and FORMAS were funding this project. References Aland, A., Lidfors, L., Ekesbo, I., 2002. Diurnal distribution of dairy cow defecation and urination. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 78, 43–54. Bakken, G., 1978. Environment and mastitis frequency. Some results on a survey in Norwegian dairy farms.In: Summaries of 29th Ann. Meet. EAAP, 5–7 June, Stockholm, MC/3.06, p. 1978. Bendixen, P.H., Vilson, B., Ekesbo, I., A˚strand, D.B., 1988a. Disease Frequencies in Dairy Cows in Sweden. VI. Tramped Teat. Prev. Vet. Med. 6, 17–25. Bendixen, P.H., Vilson, B., Ekesbo, I., A˚strand, D.B., 1988b. Disease frequencies in dairy cows in Sweden. V. Mastitis. Prev. Vet. Med. 5, 263– 274. Bengtsson, G., Ekesbo, I., Jacobsson, S.O., 1965. An outbreak of disease in cattle, presumed to have been chronic hydrogen sulphide poisoning. Svensk Veterinartidning 17, 248–254. Bergsten, C., Herlin, A.H., 1996. Sole haemorrhages and heel horn erosion in dairy cows: the influence of housing system on their prevalence and severity. Acta Vet. Scand. 37 (4), 395–408. Ekesbo, I., 1966. Disease incidence in tied and loose housed dairy cattle. Acta Agric. Scand. Suppl. 15, 74. Ekesbo, I., 1992. Monitoring systems using clinical, subclinical and behavioural records for improving health and welfare. In: Moss, R. (Ed.), Livestock Health and Welfare, Longman Scientific & Technical. Longman Group UK Ltd., Harlow, England, pp. 20–50. Haley, D.B., de Passille´, A.M., Rushen, J., 2001. Assessing cow comfort: effects of two floor types and two tie stall designs on the behaviour of lactating dairy cows. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 71, 105–117. Hogan, J., Smith, K.L., 2003. Coliform mastitis. Vet. Res. 34 (5), 507–519. Klastrup, N.O., 1978. The influence of housing and milking machine on mastitis. In: Summaries of the 29th Ann. Meet EAAP, 5–7 June, Stockholm, MC/3.02. Krohn, C.C., Munksgaard, L., 1993. Behaviour of dairy cows kept in extensive or intensive environments. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 37, 1–16. Manske, T., Hultgren, J., Bergsten, C., 2002. The effect of claw trimming on the hoof health of Swedish dairy cattle. Prev. Vet. Med. 54, 113–129. Rushen, J., Haley, D., de Passille´, A.M., 2007. Effect of softer flooring in tie stalls on resting behavior and leg injuries of lactating cows. J. Dairy Sci. 90, 3647–3651. Smith, K.L., Todhunter, D.A., Schoenberger, P.S., 1985. Environmental mastitis: cause, prevalence, prevention. J. Dairy Sci. 68, 1531–1553. Wells, S.J., Ott, S.L., Seitzinger, A.H., 1998. Key health issues for dairy cattle—new and old. J. Dairy Sci. 81, 3029–3035.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Preventive Veterinary Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/prevetmed
Short communication
Impact of elastic stall partitions on tied dairy cows’ behaviour and stall cleanliness Andres Aland a,*, Lena Lidfors b, Ingvar Ekesbo b a
Department of Animal Health and Environment, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, 51014 Tartu, Estonia b Department of Animal Environment and Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 234, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Article history: Received 20 December 2007 Received in revised form 3 July 2009 Accepted 18 July 2009
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of soft elastic stall partitions on the positions in own or neighbouring stalls by dairy cows, faeces and urine, and of contact between animal and partition. There were two designs of a soft elastic partition, here called I-partition and l-partition. The study was performed on a commercial dairy herd where the partitions had been developed. After clinical examination 16 lactating cows were selected and used as focal animals, and paired for video recordings. The animals were placed, according to their size, on stalls with different breadths and lengths. Each pair of focal animals was video recorded continuously for 9 days according to the following sequence: (1) with partition 3 24 h; (2) without partition 3 24 h; (3) with partition again 3 24 h. Before each such session each focal pair was again clinically examined. Behaviours were analysed per hour, summarised per 24 h and analysed with a mixed linear model or Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. Without partitions more urine (p < 0.05) and faeces (p < 0.05) landed on the neighbouring cow’s stall and the time standing 458 to the manger was longer (p < 0.01), whereas the time standing 908 to the manger was shorter (p < 0.01). Without partitions three out of the 16 cows were standing and three were lying parallel to the manger. Presence or absence of partitions did not influence the total lying time per 24 h. Cows with the l-partition defecated more seldom in neighbouring stalls than cows with the I-partition (p < 0.01). It is concluded that without partitions between tied animals more eliminations on neighbouring stalls and more deviations from the 908 position in relation to the manger occurred. This seems to be the first experimental study of how partitions influence the behaviour of tied cattle and the results support the general advice that tied cattle should have partitions. ß 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dairy cows Tie stalls Stall partitions Behaviour Urination Defecation
1. Introduction General advice to have partitions on both sides of tied cattle is often given in order to prevent disturbances or intrusions by neighbouring animals and to prevent stalls from getting dirty by droppings from neighbouring
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +372 7313221; fax: +372 7313706. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Aland). 0167-5877/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2009.07.007
animals (e.g. Bakken, 1978). The motive is to avoid intrusion by adjacent animals which could cause traumatic injuries and cause animals to get dirty through manure and urine. However, no experimental or epidemiological studies showing the efficiency of partitions seem to have been published. Indirect evidence is that more cases of mastitis have been reported when partitions were missing (Klastrup, 1978). Traditional partitions are usually constructed of iron pipes, either as an upside down ‘‘U’’ shape with the ends
A. Aland et al. / Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92 (2009) 154–157
fixed in the stall floor, or L-shaped with one end fixed in the floor and the other in the manger. However, the solid construction involves risks for the stockman becoming squeezed or might injure sick cows that are not able to rise. Some farmers hesitate to install partitions or install them only between every second cow. A farmer in Sweden therefore, for his tied dairy cattle herd, constructed two types of soft and elastic partitions. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the presence or absence of these two types of partition, here called type I and type l, influenced the cows’ intrusive and eliminative behaviour in neighbouring stalls, and to find out if one of the designs had any advantage over the other. 2. Material and methods 2.1. Animals, housing and management The study was performed in a Swedish commercial dairy herd with 50 cows of the Swedish Red (SR) and Swedish Friesian (SF) breed. The cows were tied with cross-chain ties at the manger, and there were two parallel mangers equipped with lockable feeding barriers between stalls and manger. The barriers were open during feeding and locked during resting periods when the animals could eat the uncut oat straw used as bedding. At the manger there were 23 stalls per side with a breadth of 105–120 cm and a length of 202–210 cm. The farmer placed each animal according to its size on the different stall sizes. The gutters behind the stalls were 50 cm wide and 20 cm deep. The stalls were regularly cleaned and manure and soiled bedding put into the gutter before each milking and before the morning and evening spreading of new bedding, and at about 22:00 h with the last daily check of the animals. When dirty cows were discovered they were immediately cleaned with a brush. 2.2. Stall partitions The partitions, made of elastic nylon cloth straps, consisted of an upper and a lower part connected about 1 m above the floor with a ring and fixed stretched vertically between the ceiling and the floor between two stalls (Fig. 1). The upper part was 4 cm broad and the lower 10 cm broad. Whereas type I just formed a vertical band type l was like an upside down ‘‘Y’’. The type I was fixed to the floor 115 cm from the feeding barrier, the fore strap or
155
‘‘leg’’ of type l was fixed to the floor 100 cm and the rear 150 cm from the feeding barrier. 2.3. Experimental design In order to select the most suitable cows for the behavioural observations the following information was recorded for all cows: age, size, lactation number, milk production, clinical health, disease history, breast width, temperament and other behavioural characteristics. Simultaneously a clinical examination was made on: condition of visible mucous membranes, body temperature, heart rate, breathing frequency, rumination frequency, frequency of elimination, status of the skin (sensitivity, scratches and abrasions), body condition and nutritional condition, shape of joints and hooves, condition of udder and teats. Considering these parameters 16 focal cows were selected. Prior to each 3 24 h video recording session each focal animal was again clinically examined. For the focal animals no health problems were discovered at any of the health checks. The focal cows selected were 15 SR and one SF cow (nine in first lactation, seven in 2nd–5th lactations). The cows were selected as pairs standing next to each other and so that four pairs had the I-partition between each pair and four pairs had the l-partition between each pair. On the other side of a pair there was no partition; in this way there was a partition between every second cow in the barn. In order to avoid bias because of cow size related to stall size the animal size determined the stall size chosen for each pair of focal animals. There was a significant positive correlation between stall width and breast width for cows with the l-partition (p < 0.05, r = 0.79, n = 8), but not for cows with the I-partition (n.s., r = 0.58, n = 8; Spearman rank correlation). The behaviour was recorded by video cameras equipped with infrared light fixed under the ceiling behind the animals, covering the focal pair and the two neighbouring animals and stalls, partitions, gutters, feeding barrier and manger. Cameras were moved between pairs of cows over 16 weeks in order to video record all pairs. The time-lapse method with one picture per second was used, and this method made it possible to record the exact time for each event. In order to test the effect of having partitions or not each pair of focal animals was recorded continuously over nine days according to the following sequence: (1) with
Fig. 1. Drawing of the two designs of elastic stall partitions: (A) I-partition and (B) l-partition.
156
A. Aland et al. / Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92 (2009) 154–157
partition 3 24 h; (2) without partition 3 24 h; (3) with partition again 3 24 h. Additionally four of the focal cows were video recorded for another 9 24 h periods split up into the same three periods as above with partitions on both sides. Each video cassette was analysed per hour, the recordings noted down on pro forma and later computerized. All behavioural recordings were made by the same observer. All events of urination and defecation and where deposited were recorded. The duration of the following behaviours were recorded: standing and lying in five different positions to the manger (458, 908 to the left or right, parallel to the left or right) and contact with partition during standing and lying. Health disorders observed in the herd during recording were reported daily by the farmer on a herd health form (Ekesbo, 1992). 2.4. Statistical analysis Data were analysed using the statistical package SAS (version 9.1, Statistical Analysis Systems Inc., Cary, USA). Data was tested for normality, and if so was analysed with a mixed linear model (PROC MIXED) where the model tested for the effects of design of partition (I-partitions or l-partitions) and their presence and absence (three periods) and cow being random and repeated. The effect of day (within period) was also included in the original model, but as it did not have any significant effect on any parameters tested it was removed from the model. If data were not normally distributed the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test was used to test the effect of different partitions. In the results and discussion we present the F-value when the Proc Mixed model has been used and the Z-value when the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test has been used. Spearman Rank correlation was used to test if there were correlations between stall breadth and breast width of animals. Pvalues of less than 0.05 were considered significant. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Urination and defecation There were a significantly higher number of recordings of urine and faeces landing on the neighbouring cow’s stall without than with partitions (Fig. 2). However, pair-wise comparison between no partition and partition before or partition after was not significantly different for either defecation or urination. There was a significant effect of partitions on the number of times cows defecated half in the gutter and half in their stall (p < 0.05, F = 3.71, mean number = 1.69 with partition, 2.40 without partition, 2.44 with partition). These effects of using partitions on the stall cleanliness are important as constant contact with manure is an important risk factor for hoof disorders (Ekesbo, 1966; Bergsten and Herlin, 1996; Manske et al., 2002) and also for udder infections (e.g. Smith et al., 1985; Hogan and Smith, 2003). Cows with the l-partition were recorded defecating more often on their own stall than cows with the I-
Fig. 2. Mean number of recordings (SE) per 24 h of dairy cows depositing urine and faeces in neighbouring stalls with partition on one side for 3 days, no partition for 3 days and partition on one side returned for 3 days (urine: p < 0.05, F = 3.97, faeces: p < 0.05, F = 4.96, n = 16).
partition (p < 0.01, F = 10.94, 7.56 times/24 h vs. 4.82 times/24 h). However, this was confounded by stall length as cows with the l-partition had stall lengths of 210 cm and cows with the I-partition had stall lengths of 202 cm. As the cows on the longer stalls get more manure on their own stalls this is support for the l-partition being considered more efficient than the I-partition. During feeding time, the animals were more excited and made many movements. It was also observed that some cows with a partition on one side or without partition were soiled by faeces deposited in their own stalls by neighbouring cows. Nearly one-third of the defecations occurred while lying (Aland et al., 2002). 3.2. Position on stall and contact with partitions The time standing 458 to the manger was longer (p < 0.01, F = 5.58) and the time standing 908 to the manger per 24 h was shorter (p < 0.01, F = 4.85) without partitions. A similar pattern was observed for cows having partitions on both sides (Table 1), but as there were only four cows with partitions on both sides they were not included in the statistical analysis. It was observed that an adjacent cow often intruded on the focal cow’s stall both without partitions and with partitions on one side. In the period without partitions standing parallel with the manger was recorded on three of the 16 cows and when I-partition was put back on one side it was recorded on one cow. Lying parallel with the manger was recorded on three cows both with I-partition on one side and without partitions. No cows with partitions on both sides lay parallel to the manger. The results of the study underline the need for having partitions on both sides. When cows are moving to stand 458 to the manger the risk is increased Table 1 Mean duration ( SE) in min per 24 h of standing 458 or 908 to the manger in cows having partition on one side (n = 16) and cows having partitions on both sides (n = 4). Degree to manger
With partitions
Without partitions
With partitions
One side 458 Both sides 458 One side 908 Both sides 908
190.7 17.02 169.2 23.41 559.9 20.00 548.5 10.63
225.8 17.02 194.2 14.46 523.0 20.00 567.2 33.07
214.6 17.02 146.7 30.50 537.9 20.00 578.3 12.65
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for trampling the teats of neighbouring lying cows, for hindering the neighbouring cow from lying down, and for faeces and urine deposition on the neighbouring cows’ stalls. The consequences of teat tramp and exposure to manure are described in several studies. The most prominent risk factor for mastitis is tramped teats (Ekesbo, 1966; Bendixen et al., 1988a,b), and without partitions between stalls cows can intrude on each other’s stalls and thereby increase the risk of trampling the teats of lying neighbouring cows. Constant contact with manure is reported to be an important risk factor for hoof disorders (Ekesbo, 1966; Bergsten and Herlin, 1996; Manske et al., 2002) and udder infections via dirty lying areas (e.g. Smith et al., 1985; Hogan and Smith, 2003). Both udder and hoof disorders are responsible for a large portion of the economic losses caused by dairy cow diseases (Wells et al., 1998). Tests of bias caused by day or period showed that there were no significant effects of day on standing 458 (n.s., F = 1.48) or 908 (n.s., F = 1.11) to the manger and no significant effects of the interaction between period and day on standing 458 (n.s., F = 0.74) or 908 (n.s., F = 1.81) to the manger. The cows had a longer duration of being in contact with a partition when they were lying than when they were standing (Table 2). During lying cows having an I-partition had a tendency to have a longer duration of contact with the partition than cows having a l-partition (Table 2), probably because the broadest part of the belly was in closer proximity to the I-partition. During standing there was no significant difference in duration of contact between partition designs (Table 2). This new design of partition is softer and more flexible than the traditional Lshaped or U-shaped type. That traditional steel pipe partitions exert pressure on the skin as well as the dermis has been shown through the findings of subcutaneous haemorrhages caused by steel partitions in cows exposed to manure gas (Bengtsson et al., 1965). 3.3. Lying time The total lying time per 24 h was not influenced by presence or absence of partitions (n.s., F = 0.04, n = 16), or by partition type (n.s., F = 0.43, n = 16). Cows lay for a mean duration of 11 h 28 min (688.4 min 28.25 SE, n = 16). Cows with the I-partition lay on average 12 h and 12 min per 24 h (771 min, n = 8) and cows with l-partition lay on average 11 h and 6 min per 24 h (666 min, n = 8). In previous studies tied dairy cows were found to lay for 8–13 h (Krohn and Munksgaard, 1993; Haley et al., 2001; Rushen et al., Table 2 Duration of contact with different types of partitions during lying and standing in tied dairy cows (I-partition n = 8, l-partition n = 8). Lying was tested for significant effects of partition with analysis of variance, and standing was tested for differences between partitions with the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Behaviour
I-partition
l-Partition
p-Value
Statistical value
Lying Standing
416.4 35.77 146.5 59.13
313.2 44.62 69.8 20.45
p < 0.10 n.s.
F = 3.72 Z = 0.4726
157
2007). The majority of the cows were lying at the same time indicating that herd behaviour synchronization existed. Haley et al. (2001) did not find as much synchronization in their study. While resting most of the animals lay for 2 or 3 h at a time. Then they stood and thereafter lay down on their other side. 4. Conclusions This study indicates that partitions reduce possibilities for adjacent animals to encroach the stall and for urine and faeces from neighbouring animals to be deposited there. The comparisons between I- and l-partitions indicated that l-partitions were more efficient than I-partitions. The results of this experimental study for the first time give scientific support for the common veterinary advice to farmers that partitions should be used and used on both sides. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the owner and personnel at Fa˚rdala farm for their cooperation during the experiments and Mr. K. Staaf and Mrs. G. Jacobsson for technical assistance. The Swedish Institute and FORMAS were funding this project. References Aland, A., Lidfors, L., Ekesbo, I., 2002. Diurnal distribution of dairy cow defecation and urination. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 78, 43–54. Bakken, G., 1978. Environment and mastitis frequency. Some results on a survey in Norwegian dairy farms.In: Summaries of 29th Ann. Meet. EAAP, 5–7 June, Stockholm, MC/3.06, p. 1978. Bendixen, P.H., Vilson, B., Ekesbo, I., A˚strand, D.B., 1988a. Disease Frequencies in Dairy Cows in Sweden. VI. Tramped Teat. Prev. Vet. Med. 6, 17–25. Bendixen, P.H., Vilson, B., Ekesbo, I., A˚strand, D.B., 1988b. Disease frequencies in dairy cows in Sweden. V. Mastitis. Prev. Vet. Med. 5, 263– 274. Bengtsson, G., Ekesbo, I., Jacobsson, S.O., 1965. An outbreak of disease in cattle, presumed to have been chronic hydrogen sulphide poisoning. Svensk Veterinartidning 17, 248–254. Bergsten, C., Herlin, A.H., 1996. Sole haemorrhages and heel horn erosion in dairy cows: the influence of housing system on their prevalence and severity. Acta Vet. Scand. 37 (4), 395–408. Ekesbo, I., 1966. Disease incidence in tied and loose housed dairy cattle. Acta Agric. Scand. Suppl. 15, 74. Ekesbo, I., 1992. Monitoring systems using clinical, subclinical and behavioural records for improving health and welfare. In: Moss, R. (Ed.), Livestock Health and Welfare, Longman Scientific & Technical. Longman Group UK Ltd., Harlow, England, pp. 20–50. Haley, D.B., de Passille´, A.M., Rushen, J., 2001. Assessing cow comfort: effects of two floor types and two tie stall designs on the behaviour of lactating dairy cows. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 71, 105–117. Hogan, J., Smith, K.L., 2003. Coliform mastitis. Vet. Res. 34 (5), 507–519. Klastrup, N.O., 1978. The influence of housing and milking machine on mastitis. In: Summaries of the 29th Ann. Meet EAAP, 5–7 June, Stockholm, MC/3.02. Krohn, C.C., Munksgaard, L., 1993. Behaviour of dairy cows kept in extensive or intensive environments. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 37, 1–16. Manske, T., Hultgren, J., Bergsten, C., 2002. The effect of claw trimming on the hoof health of Swedish dairy cattle. Prev. Vet. Med. 54, 113–129. Rushen, J., Haley, D., de Passille´, A.M., 2007. Effect of softer flooring in tie stalls on resting behavior and leg injuries of lactating cows. J. Dairy Sci. 90, 3647–3651. Smith, K.L., Todhunter, D.A., Schoenberger, P.S., 1985. Environmental mastitis: cause, prevalence, prevention. J. Dairy Sci. 68, 1531–1553. Wells, S.J., Ott, S.L., Seitzinger, A.H., 1998. Key health issues for dairy cattle—new and old. J. Dairy Sci. 81, 3029–3035.