Investigating the impact of management decisions on the welfare of dairy cattle.

Abstract

Dairy farmers make decisions daily that effect the animals they care for. From housing to feeding and from training of employees to health interventions with everything in between. These decisions impact the welfare, both positively and potentially negatively, of the animals under their care. These decisions can also have an impact on the productivity of the cattle on the farm and in turn the productivity of the farm overall. This thesis addresses two main themes of management practices that can affect the dairy cows on their farm: 1) the impact of a new design of a secluded calving area provided to periparturient cows, and 2) cattle handling training provided to employees, family or hired, on the farm. Chapter 2 will provide a background for the two themes of this thesis, periparturient cow housing and effects of management decisions and the effects of cattle handling training on the welfare of the cattle who are experiencing the handling. Chapter 3 investigates how providing a periparturient cow with a secluded area to calve, referred to as a blind, with a design that aims to mimic a natural environment, gives a cow agency over her environment. While results did not show a preference for calving inside the blind, it was observed that not only did parturient cows use the blind to calve, non-parturient cows were present in the blind during a large percentage of observations, indicating that cows are interested in seclusion at times other than during calving. Also, cows who calved during the day were more likely to calve inside the blind. Chapter 4 investigates current cattle handling training practices used on Wisconsin dairy farms. Results indicated that a large percentage of farms have an existing training program in place. These results may be influenced by new regulations put into place in 2020 that require all farms to provide an annual continuing education program for any employee who participated in animal handling. This survey also identifies specific sources that farms utilize for information related to cattle handling training, both interpersonal and vii electronic, barriers the farm experiences in relation to implementation of training programs and how important the respondents believe cattle handling training is. While these two themes only address a small portion of the management decisions that farms make regarding the care of the animals on their farm, the two studies of this thesis will provide a new look at these two aspects of dairy cow management practices.