Daily lying time, motion index and step frequency in dairy cows change throughout lactation.
Lying behaviour in dairy cows has the potential to be used for welfare assessment or problem detection, but knowledge about variation in normal lying behaviour is scarce. Accelerometer data were collected at four Danish farms from 366 Holstein dairy cows in loose-housing systems in 2008 and 2009. Daily lying time decreased steeply during early lactation to a minimum around four weeks after calving, followed by a steady increase towards the end of lactation. Motion index and step frequency during walking exhibited a similar pattern. An adapted version of Wilmink's function for lactation curves was used to model these behaviours in relation to days in milk. The results demonstrate the importance of including information about days in milk when interpreting data on lying behaviour and activity.
Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Burg. van Gansberghelaan 115 bus 1, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: jarissa.maselyne@ilvo.vlaanderen.be.
Jarissa
J
Maselyne
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Green technology, Viikinkaari 4, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: matti.pastell@luke.fi.
Matti
M
Pastell
Aarhus University, Department of Animal Science, P. O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark. Electronic address: ptt@anis.au.dk.
Peter T
PT
Thomsen
IceRobotics Ltd., Bankhead Steading, South Queensferry, Edinburgh, EH30 9TF, UK. Electronic address: vmt@thorupconsult.dk.
Vivi M
VM
Thorup
University of Helsinki, Research centre for animal welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, PO Box 57, 00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: laura.hanninen@helsinki.fi.
Laura
L
Hänninen
Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Burg. van Gansberghelaan 115 bus 1, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: jurgen.vangeyte@ilvo.vlaanderen.be.
Jürgen
J
Vangeyte
Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Burg. van Gansberghelaan 115 bus 1, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: annelies.vannuffel@ilvo.vlaanderen.be.
Annelies
A
Van Nuffel
Aarhus University, Department of Animal Science, P. O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark. Electronic address: lene.munksgaard@anis.au.dk.
Lene
L
Munksgaard
D061725:Accelerometry / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008124:Locomotion; D009068:Movement; D011187:Posture
Dairy cow; Lactation; Lying time; Motion index; Step frequency