Dairy cow daily time budget - a significant indicator of welfare and health

NOVÁK, Pavel, MALÁ, Gabriela, SMUTNÁ, Š. and SMUTNÝ, L. Dairy cow daily time budget - a significant indicator of welfare and health. Veterinářství, 2017, vol. 67(12), p. 956-959. ISSN 0506-8231.
Year2017
CathegoryPublication in specialized journals
Internal link17209.pdf
Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine dairy cows’daily time budget during the one year monitoring. We analysed 24-hour basic daily activities collected from 96 dairy cows housed in three free stall barns in three farms. The observed parameters were evaluated by Statistica software (non-parametric tests). During our monitoring we found the following structure of daily activities: eating 4.5 hours/day, lying and resting in the boxes 12.6 hours/, spent 2.4 hours/day in social interaction, ruminate 8.2 hours/day, drinking 0.5 hour/day and 2.6 hours/day spending outside the pen for travel to and from the parlour, milking. Cows housed in free stall facilities on concrete floors require a minimum of 12 hour/day of rest in a comfortable stall. The time budget – the allocation of time to different activities – can vary considerably depending on the environment, breeding structure, management and health status of the cow.