Effect of rubber and concrete flooring on resting behavior, hock injuries, and milk production of primiparous Friesian crossbred dairy cows housed in a free-stall barn in Mid-Country, Sri Lanka.

The floor surface of the cubicle is a detrimental factor on cow comfort. The effects of two floor types, rubber and concrete, on dairy cow comfort and milk production were compared for a period of 13 weeks. Fourteen Friesian crossbred dairy cows with an average body weight of 425.67 ± 61.12 kg (mean ± SD), nose to tail body length of 2.07 ± 0.15 m, rump height of 1.29 ± 0.02 m, hook bone width of 0.48 ± 0.05 m, and body condition score (BCS) of 4.13 ± 0.44 were used, with seven cows per flooring treatment. The cows produced a mean of 15.93 ± 4.03 l/cow/day and a constant feeding plan was practiced. The swelling and wound severity of hocks diminished (P < 0.05) starting at the third and tenth weeks, respectively. Daily lying time/h (concrete: 9.67 ± 1.24, rubber: 10.60 ± 0.69, P = 0.046) and average duration of lying bouts/min increased (concrete: 58.16 ± 7.74, rubber: 65.66 ± 9.85, P = 0.050) starting from the twelfth week on rubber bedding. Prevalence of mastitis, lameness, and cow cleanliness remained unchanged on floor treatments. A progressive increase in daily milk production/l (concrete: 13.37 ± 1.46, rubber: 16.67 ± 2.24, P = 0.007) of cows in rubber bedding was observed at the fourth week of the experiment. Hence, the current study suggests that the use of softer bedding such as rubber mats could improve cow comfort and daily milk production of cows.

Effects of four dim vs high intensity red color light regimens on growth performance and welfare of broilers.

OBJECTIVE: Broilers show clear preference towards red color light (RL). However setting of an optimum light intensity is difficult since dim intensities that favor growth reduce welfare. This experiment was conducted to test the most effective RL intensity regimen (Dim [5 lux; DI] vs high [320 lux; HI]) in combination applied at different growth stages that favors for both performance and welfare. METHODS: Complete randomize design was adopted with 6 replicates. Treatments were; T1 = early DI (8-21 d)+latter HI (22-35 d); T2 = early DI (8-28 d)+latter HI (29-35 d), T3 = early HI (8-21 d)+latter DI (22-35 d), T4 = early HI (8-28 d)+latter DI (29-35 d) and T5 = control (white light; WT) (8-35 d) at medium intensity (20 lux). Body weight (BW), weight gain (WG), water/feed intake and ratio, feed conversion ratios (FCR) were assessed. Common behaviours (15) were recorded by scan sampling method. Lameness, foot pad dermatitis, breast blisters, hock burning damage were assessed as welfare parameters. Fear reactions were tested using Tonic Immobility Test. Ocular and carcass evaluations were done. Meat and tibiae were analyzed for fat and bone ash respectively. RESULTS: On 35 d, the highest BW (2,155.72±176 g), WG (1,967.78±174 g) were recorded by T2 compared to WT (BWWT = 1,878.22±155, WGWT = 1,691.83±160). But, application of RL, either DI, or HI during early/latter stage had no significant effect on FCR. Under HI, birds showed much higher active behaviours. DI encourages eating. Though LI changed from DI to HI, same trend could be seen even under HI. The highest leg strength (218.5±120 s) was recorded by T2. The lowest leg strength (64.58±33 s) and the highest ocular weight (2.48±1 g) were recorded by T1. Significantly (p<0.05) the highest skin weight (162.17±6 g) but the lowest fat% in meat (13.03%±5%) was recorded by T2. CONCLUSION: Early exposure to DI-RL up to 28 days followed by exposure to HI-RL is the most favorable lighting regimen for optimizing production, better welfare of broilers and improving health benefits of meat.

Red Color Light at Different Intensities Affects the Performance, Behavioral Activities and Welfare of Broilers.

Red light (RL) marked higher weight gain (WG) and preference of broilers compared to other light colors. This study aimed to investigate how different intensities of RL affect the performance, behavior and welfare of broilers. RL treatments were T1 = high intensity (320 lux), T2 = medium intensity (20 lux); T3 = dim intensity (5 lux), T4 = control/white light at (20 lux) provided on 20L:4D schedule and T5 = negative control; 12 hours dark: 12 hours day light. Cobb strain broilers were used in a Complete Randomize Design with 6 replicates. WG, water/feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), mortality, behavior and welfare were assessed. At 35 d, significantly (p<0.05) highest body weight (2,147.06 g±99) was recorded by T3. Lowest body weight (1,640.55 g±56) and FCR (1.34) were recorded by T5. Skin weight was the only carcass parameter showed a significant (p<0.05) influence giving the highest (56.2 g) and the lowest (12.6 g) values for T5 and T1 respectively. Reduced welfare status indicated by significantly (p<0.05) higher foot pad lesions, hock burns and breast blisters was found under T3, due to reduced expression of behavior. Highest walking (2.08%±1%) was performed under T1 in the evening during 29 to 35 days. Highest dust bathing (3.01%±2%) was performed in the morning during 22 to 28 days and highest bird interaction (BI) (4.87%±4%) was observed in the evening by T5 during 14 to 21 days. Light intensity×day session×age interaction was significantly (p<0.05) affected walking, dust bathing and BI. Light intensity significantly (p<0.05) affected certain behaviors such as lying, eating, drinking, standing, walking, preening while lying, wing/leg stretching, sleeping, dozing, BI, vocalization, idling. In conclusion, birds essentially required provision of light in the night for better performance. Exposed to 5 lux contributed to higher WG, potentially indicating compromised welfare status. Further researches are suggested to investigate RL intensity based lighting regimen that favors for both production and welfare of Broilers.