The Effect of Straw Bedding Usage in Loose Housing Systems on Behavior and Milk Production of Holstein Dairy Cows

Thirty one Holstein Friesian cows were allocated to two groups. For a period of 7 weeks, twice a week, the behavior of each cow was registered for 9 h (07:00, 09.00, 10.00, 11.00,13:00, 14.00, 15.00, 17.00 and 19:00 h) eating, drinking, ruminating, standing, resting, locomotor and other behaviors were recorded. The frequencies of eating, drinking, ruminating, standing, resting, locomotor and other behaviors for bedding and nonbedding usage groups were 32.9 and 34.6% (p>0.05); 1.7, 2.6% (p<0.01); 20.3 and 20.5% (p>0.05); 20.5 and 28.4% (p<0.01); 14.8 and 7.9% (p<0.01); 8.5 and 4.4% (p<0.01) and 1.7 and 1.5% (p>0.05), respectively. The percentage of the eating behavior of cows of the bedding group at 9:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 17:00 observations were higher than the nonbedding group, while the other results at different observation hours show reverse results. As a result, the amount of time cows spend resting is higher in the bedding group, which is considered to significantly influence their comfort level. Resting behavior is an indicator of animal welfare and as such, this result suggests that bedding usage in loose housing systems provides a more comfortable and socially interactive environment that satisfies conditions of a more positive animal experience.