Influences on the activity and lying behavior of lactating dairy cows with particular attention to lameness

Abstract

Lameness, which is usually the cause of a painful claw disease, continues to be the third most common reason for culling on dairy-producing farms in Germany. Claw diseases are not only painful, affecting both health and well-being of the animals, they are also often diagnosed too late. In order to counteract resulting financial and performance losses and additionally increase animal welfare, the earliest possible detection of lameness and subsequent treatment of the cause of lameness are essential. Despite more than 70% of all farmers being willing to eliminate this malady and improve hoof health, lameness prevalence is often underestimated. In order to support the farmer as good as possible and at the same time meet the requirements of ever-advancing herd management, sensor-assisted lameness detection should be ensured, because the earliest possible detection and treatment of lameness can significantly reduce the costs of a dairy farm and benefit individual animal welfare.<br /> In the first presented study data on the lying behavior of dairy cows with regard to animal-physiological, environmental and management-based influences were analyzed in order to make it available for further lameness research. It was found that above all the daily lying time was influenced by the lactation number, the lactation status, the oestrus and the milking frequency. Therefore, these factors should be taken into account in future models as well. A second study has shown that there is a causal relationship between the walking speed of dairy cows and hoof health. Lame cows had a significantly slower walking speed than non-lame animals, so the integration of running speed into a predictive model is considered meaningful.<br /> Numerous sensor systems enable an accurate and continuous monitoring of the health status of the dairy cows. The combination of data from different sensor systems enables the farmer to accurately monitor the health status of each individual animal in real time. In this way, the farmer is able to meet the demands of society for increased animal welfare in modern dairy farms.