Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T02:13:21.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Responses to short-term exposure to simulated rain and wind by dairy cattle: time budgets, shelter use, body temperature and feed intake

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

KE Schütz ,
KV Clark ,
NR Cox ,
LR Matthews  and
CB Tucker
KE Schütz*
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
KV Clark
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
NR Cox
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
LR Matthews
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
CB Tucker
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of California, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Our objective was to examine how short-term exposure to wind or rain, or the combination of wind and rain, influences behavioural and physiological responses and the motivation for shelter. Twenty-four, non-lactating, pregnant Holstein-Friesian cows were individually housed and allocated one of four treatments (control, wind, rain, wind and rain) created with fans and sprinklers. Feed intake and behavioural and physiological variables were recorded for 22 h. Motivation to use the shelter was assessed by creating a tradeoff between time spent feeding while exposed to the weather treatments and time spent in the shelter. Feeding times were manipulated by placing frames with three different mesh sizes over the feed; the purpose of the smaller mesh was to increase the time spent feeding. However, shelter use was unchanged by these costs. Cows reduced their feed intake by 62% when exposed to rain and the combination of rain and wind. Cows spent approximately 50% of their time in the shelters in all weather treatments and spent little time lying, especially under wet conditions (5.9, 4.4, 2.8, and 1.1 [± 1.4 h] per 22 h for control, wind, rain, and wind/rain treatments, respectively; mean [± SED]). Rain alone, and in combination with wind, decreased skin temperature by 26%, on average. The short-term response to wet conditions was characterised by a marked decline in lying time, feed intake and skin temperature. Wind alone had little effect on these responses, but magnified the effect of simulated rain on feeding behaviour. These results indicate that protection from both rain and the combination of rain and wind is likely to be important for animal welfare, but future work is needed to understand when and how to provide protection to pastured dairy cattle.

Keywords

animal welfarebehaviourdairy cattlemotivationphysiologyrain and wind
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , November 2010 , pp. 375 - 383
Copyright
© 2010 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Adams, DC, Nelsen, TC, Reynolds, WL and Knapp, BW 1986 Winter grazing activity and forage intake of range cows in the northern great plains. Journal of Animal Science 62: 1240–1246Google Scholar
AFRC 1993 Energy and Protein Requirements of Ruminants. An advisory manual prepared by the AFRC Technical Committee on Responses to Nutrients. CAB International: Wallingford, UKGoogle Scholar
Ames, DR and Insley, LW 1975 Wind-chill effect for cattle and sheep. Journal of Animal Science 40: 161–165CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bergen, RD, Kennedy, AD and Christopherson, RJ 2001 Effects of intermittent cold exposure varying in intensity on core body temperature and resting heat production of beef cattle. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 81: 459–465CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Degen, AA and Young, BA 1993 Rate of metabolic heat production and rectal temperature of steers exposed to simulated mud and rain conditions. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 73: 207–210CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Environment Canada 2006 Wind Chill Program. http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/education/windchill (Accessed 1 July 2006)Google Scholar
Fisher, AD, Stewart, M, Verkerk, GA, Morrow, CJ and Matthews, LR 2003 The effects of surface type on lying behaviour and stress responses of dairy cows during periodic weather-induced removal from pasture. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81: 1–11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, AD, Verkerk, GA, Morrow, CJ and Matthews, LR 2002 The effects of feed restriction and lying deprivation on pituitary-adrenal axis regulation in lactating cows. Livestock Production Science 73: 255–263CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fregonesi, JA, Veira, DM, von Keyserlingk, MAG and Weary, DM 2007 Effects of bedding quality on lying behavior of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 90: 5468–5472CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gonyou, HW and Stricklin, WR 1981 Orientation of feedlot bulls with respect to the sun during periods of high solar radiation in winter. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 61: 809–816CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonyou, HW, Christopherson, RJ and Young, BA 1979 Effects of cold temperature and winter conditions on some aspects of behaviour of feedlot cattle. Applied Animal Ethology 5: 113–124CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hidiroglou, M and Lessard, JR 1971 Some effects of fluctuating low ambient temperatures on beef cattle. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 51: 111–120CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houseal, GA and Olson, BE 1995 Cattle use of microclimates on a northern latitude winter range. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 75: 501–507CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, MB, Pedersen, LJ and Munksgaard, L 2005 The effect of reward duration on demand functions for rest in dairy heifers and lying requirements as measured by demand functions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 90: 207–217Google Scholar
Kennedy, AD, Bergen, RD, Christopherson, RJ, Glover, ND and Small, JA 2005 Effect of once daily 5-h or 10-h cold-exposures on body temperature and resting heat production of beef cattle. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 85: 177–183Google Scholar
Kenward, MG and Roger, JH 1997 Small sample inference for fixed effects from restricted maximum likelihood. Biometrics 53: 983–997Google ScholarPubMed
Ketelaar-de Lauwere, CC, Ipema, AH, van Ouwerkerk, ENJ, Hendriks, MMWB, Metz, JHM, Noordhuizen, JPTM and Schouten, WGP 1999 Voluntary automatic milking in combination with grazing of dairy cows: milking frequency and effects on behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 64: 91–109Google Scholar
Krohn, CC and Munksgaard, L 1993 Behaviour of dairy cows kept in extensive (loose housing/pasture) or intensive (tie stall) environments. II. lying and lying-down behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 37: 1–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malechek, JC and Smith, BM 1976 Behavior of range cows in response to winter weather. Journal of Range Management 29: 9–12Google Scholar
Martin, P and Bateson, P 1993 Measuring Behaviour. An Introductory Guide, 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCafferty, DJ 2007 The value of infrared thermography for research in mammals: previous applications and future directions. Mammal Review 37: 207–223CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, CJC, Botha, JA and Smith, WA 1996 Effect of confinement area on production, physiological parameters and behaviour of Friesian cows during winter in a temperate climate. South African Journal of Animal Science 26: 1–5Google Scholar
Munkgsgaard, L, Ingvartsen, KL, Pedersen, LJ and Nielsen, VKM 1999 Deprivation of lying down affects behaviour and pituitary-adrenal axis responses in young bulls. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section A, Animal Science 49: 172–178Google Scholar
Munkgsgaard, L, Jensen, MB, Pedersen, LJ, Hansen, SW and Matthews, L 2005 Quantifying behavioural priorities: effects of time constraints on behaviour of dairy cows, Bos taurus. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 92: 3–14CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, BE and Wallander, RT 2002 Influence of winter weather and shelter on activity patterns of beef cows. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 82: 491–501CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prescott, ML, Havstad, KM, Olson-Rutz, KM, Ayers, EL and Petersen, MK 1994 Grazing behavior of free-ranging beef cows to initial and prolonged exposure to fluctuating thermal environments. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 39: 103–113Google Scholar
Redbo, I, Ehrlemark, A and Redbo-Torstensson, P 2001 Behavioural responses to climatic demands of dairy heifers housed outdoors. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 81: 9–15CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Self, HL, Summers, CE, Roth, F, Hull, D and Zmolek, WG 1963 Environmental influence on rate and economy of gains in yearling steers. Journal of Animal Science 22: 1111–1112 (Abstract)Google Scholar
Senft, RL, Rittenhouse, LR and Woodmansee, RG 1985 Factors influencing selection of resting sites by cattle on short-grass steppe. Journal of Range Management 38: 295–299CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, CB, Rogers, AR, Verkerk, GA, Kendall, PE, Webster, JR and Matthews, LR 2007 Effects of shelter and body condition on the behaviour and physiology of dairy cattle in winter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 105: 1–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, CB, Weary, DM, von Keyserlingk, MAG and Beauchemin, KA 2009 Cow comfort in tie-stalls: Increased depth of shavings or straw bedding increases lying time. Journal of Dairy Science 92: 2684–2690CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vandenheede, M, Nicks, B, Shehi, R, Canart, B, Dufrasne, I, Biston, R and Lecomte, P 1995 Use of shelter by grazing fattening bulls: effect of climatic factors. Animal Science 60: 81–85CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, AJF 1974 Heat loss from cattle with particular emphasis on the effects of cold. In: Monteith, JL and Mount, LE (eds) Heat Loss From Animals and Man. Assessment and Control pp 205–231. Butterworths: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Webster, JR, Stewart, M, Rogers, AR and Verkerk, GA 2008 Assessment of welfare from physiological and behavioural responses of New Zealand dairy cows exposed to cold and wet conditions. Animal Welfare 17: 19–26Google Scholar
Zähner, M, Schrader, L, Hauser, R, Keck, M, Langhans, W and Wechsler, B 2004 The influence of climatic conditions on physiological and behavioural parameters in dairy cows kept in open stables. Animal Science 78: 139–147CrossRefGoogle Scholar