Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T05:40:32.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Study of Three Methods Used to Assess Stockmanship on Commercial Dairy Farms: Can These Become Effective Welfare Assessment Techniques?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

L J Rennie ,
V A Bowell ,
J M Dearing ,
M J Haskell  and
A B Lawrence
L J Rennie*
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Animal Biology Division, Sir Stephen Watson Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PH, UK The University Of Edinburgh, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Weir Building, The Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JY, UK
V A Bowell
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Animal Biology Division, Sir Stephen Watson Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PH, UK
J M Dearing
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Animal Biology Division, Sir Stephen Watson Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PH, UK
M J Haskell
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Animal Biology Division, Sir Stephen Watson Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PH, UK
A B Lawrence
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Animal Biology Division, Sir Stephen Watson Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PH, UK
*
* 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.

The modern dairy industry involves close contact between the stockperson and their animals and thus complex relationships develop between stockperson and cow. This study examines the assessment of stockmanship quality on commercial dairy farms and aims to develop useable protocols for on-farm assessment of stockmanship for inclusion in a quality-assurance scheme. In this study the behaviour of cows was used to assess the quality of stockmanship on fifteen commercial dairy farms, which varied in level of production and intensification. The behavioural reactions of cows to a novel human and the behaviour of the stockperson before, during and after milking were scored, and stockpersons completed a fifty-question psychometric attitude questionnaire, which was made up of seven subgroups of questions. Preliminary results indicated that stockpersons differ in the behaviour they use when handling cows. Stockpersons on zero-grazing farms appeared to use fewer positive tactile behaviours and more severe negative behaviour. The behavioural responses of cows in a novel human approach test differed between farm types. Cows on straw-court farms appeared to be more flighty and less confident in the presence of a novel human. Differences were observed in mean attitude scores for the seven subgroups of questions. Job type appears to have an effect on the extent of the stockperson's positive attitude toward cows, animals in general, job satisfaction and farm economics. The results indicate that there are differences in quality of stockmanship between farms and that the three methods chosen do identify these. They show that the human-animal relationship is a potential source of fear for cows in dairy production and therefore can be used to identify poor stockmanship.

Keywords

animal welfaredairy cowfearhuman-animal interactionon-farm assessmentstockmanship
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 12 , Issue 4: Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on the Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group Level , November 2003 , pp. 591 - 597
Copyright
© 2003 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Boivin, X, Le Neindre, P and Chupin, J M 1992 Establishments of cattle-human relationships. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 32: 325–335CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breuer, K, Hemsworth, P H, Barnett, L R, Matthews, L R and Coleman, G J 2000 Behavioural response to humans and the productivity of commercial dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 66: 273–288CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coleman, G J, Hemsworth, P H, May, M and Cox, M 2000 Modifying stockperson attitudes and behaviour towards pigs at a large commercial farm. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 66: 11–20CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemsworth, P H, Barnett, J L and Coleman, G J 1990 The human-animal bond in agriculture. In: Seventeenth Annual Conference of the Australian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour. 19-22 April, 1990. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, AustraliaGoogle Scholar
Hemsworth, P H, Coleman, G J and Barnett, J L 1994 Improving the attitude and behaviour of stockpersons towards pigs and the consequences on the behaviour and performance of commercial pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 39: 349–362CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemsworth, P H, Coleman, G J, Barnett, J L and Borg, S 2000 Relationships between human-animal interactions and productivity of commercial dairy cows. Journal of Animal Science 78: 2821–2831CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rushen, J, De Passillé, A M B and Munksgaard, L 1999 Fear of people by cows and effects on milk yield, behaviour and heart rate at milking. Journal of Dairy Science 82: 720–727CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seabrook, M F 1973 A study of the influence of the cowman's personality and job satisfaction on milk yield of dairy cows. Journal of Agricultural Labour Science 1: 49–93Google Scholar
Seabrook, M F 1994 Psychological interactions between the milker and the dairy cow. In: Bucklin, R (ed) Dairy Systems for the 21st Century pp 49–58. American Society of Agricultural Engineers: Michigan, USAGoogle Scholar
Willock, J, Deary, I J, Dent, B, Grieve, R, Gibson, G and Austin, E 1999 Farmers’ attitudes, objectives, behaviours and personality traits: the Edinburgh study of decision making on farms. Journal of Vocational Behaviour 54: 5–36CrossRefGoogle Scholar