Effects Of Different Bedding Materials On Dairy Cow Welfare And Their Applicability

Bedding material plays an important role in the daily behavior of dairy cows,and the type of bedding material affects the behavior,welfare and health of dairy cows.Therefore,the experiment analyzed the effects of three bedding materials on cow behavior,cleanliness,serum indicators and preference,and analyzed the physical properties of the bedding materials at each stage and its influence on the colostrum microflora.In order to study the effects of three bedding materials on the welfare and its applicability of dairy cows.This experiment is conducted through the following three contents:Experiment 1:The purpose of this experiment is to study the differences in the physical properties of the three bedding materials and the cow’s preference for the three bedding.In the experiment,15 healthy Holstein dry cows with similar calving dates were selected and divided into 3 pens according to parity.The following bedding are placed in each pen:1)peanut shell（dry matter content（DM）:91.67%）,2)peanut-rice combination（a ratio of two parts peanut shell to one part rice husk on weight,DM:91.25%,and 3）rice husk（DM:90.4%）.Cows had free access to all 3 treatment bedding in the experiment.Preference was measured by the total duration of lying down,the bouts of lying and properties of bedding were analyzed.The results are as follows:1)The total daily lying time and the number of lying times of the cows in the rice husk were significantly higher than that of the peanut shell（P<0.01）,and the total daily lying time and the number of lying times of the cows in the mixture were significantly higher than those of the peanuts shell（P<0.05）,there was no significant difference in the average lying time of the cows in the three bedding.2)During the experiment,there were no significant differences in the dry matter,surface temperature,average temperature and maximum temperature of the thermal image between the three bedding materials.Experiment 2:The purpose of this experiment is to study the effects of three bedding materials on cow behavior,cleanliness,serum indexes and productivity.Each group had only one choice of bedding surface.High-definition digital video cameras were installed in the experimental barn to continuously capture the behavior of the cows 24h daily and the cleanliness of the cows before and after the test was scored.The calves were weighed immediately on the scale at birth and milk yield for first seven days after calving were recorded twice daily.Serum indicators within 24h after delivery were tested.The results are as follows:1)There was no significant difference in the total daily lying time,the number of lying times,the average lying time,the feeding time and the drinking time of the cows on three bedding materials.2)Bedding did not significantly affect the cleanliness of dairy cows（P>0.05）.Bedding did not significantly affect the content of serum β-hydroxybutyric acid,free fatty acids and total calcium in postpartum dairy cows（P>0.05）.3)Bedding had no significant effect on calf weight and milk yield seven days after calving（P>0.05）.Experiment 3:The purpose of this experiment is to explore the differences in the physical properties of the three bedding materials at each stage of the experiment and their influence on the colostrum microflora.On the basis of the experiment 2,the physical properties and bacterial content of the bedding on the 1 d,5 d,13 d,20 d,29 d,and 36 d experiments were determined,and the structure and abundance of the microbial flora of colostrum were analyzed.The results are as follows:1)On the 1 d and 36 d,the dry matter content of the rice husk was significantly higher than that of the mixture（P<0.05）.The mixture was significantly higher than the other two bedding on the 29 d（P<0.05）.2)On the 20 d,the water holding capacity of peanut shells was significantly higher than that of the other two bedding（P<0.05）.In the other periods,there is no significant difference in the water holding capacity of different bedding materials.On the 1 d and 5 d days,the pH of rice husk was significantly higher than that of peanut shell,while on the 29 d and 36 d days,the pH of peanut husks was significantly higher than that of the other two bedding（P<0.01）.2)On the 1 d,there was no significant difference in the bacterial content of the three bedding.On the 5 d,the content of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the mixture was significantly lower than that in the peanut shell（P<0.01）.On the 13 d,the contents of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus agalactiae in peanut shells were significantly lower than the other two bedding（P<0.05）.On the 20 d,the content of Streptococcus agalactiae in the peanut shell was significantly lower than the other two bedding（P<0.01）.3)At the phylum level,Proteobacteria and Actinomycetes were significantly enriched in the mixture group（P<0.05）,while Bacteroides,Verrucomicrobia and Epsilonbacteraeota were significantly enriched in the rice husk group（P<0.05）.At the genus level,Enhydrobacter and Pantoea were significantly enriched in the peanut shell group（P<0.05）;Pseudomonas and Corynebacterium₁ were significantly enriched in the mixture group（P<0.05）;and Bacteroides,Akkermansia,Alipis,Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014,Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002 Intestinimonas and Intestinimonas were significantly enriched in the rice husk group（P<0.05）.In summary,although dairy cows showed a preference for rice husk in the free choice phase,bedding treatment did not significantly affect the daily behavior,cleanliness,serum indicators,calf weight and milk yield of dairy cows in the no-choice phase,and all indicators were normal Within range.Additionally,the physical properties of three organic materials at each stage of the experiment meet the requirements of the bedding.In terms of bacterial content,the peanut shell is better than the other two bedding,and the bedding effects the structure and abundance of the colostrum microbial flora.