Hoeveel Stoeien En Knuffelen Koeien?

Abstract

Currently, intensive farming gets much attention, partly because of the growing criticism by consumers in the bio industry. This stimulates the development of welfare systems. The Welfare Quality ® system, developed in 2009 by parties from different countries of the European Union, is a good example that behaviour can be used as a parameter in a scoring system. However, in most cases only agonistic behavior is used. Little is known about the role tactile communication plays in cows. This study describes the various types, duration and frequency of tactile communication, in a population as close to natural as possible. Based on these findings, a comparison of tactile communication between the three different locations is made: "the pasture," "the waiting parlour" and "the exit parlour”. The logarithmic regression test shows that a 96.4 times less lick can be expected in the exit parlour than in the pasture. Remarkably, in particular the long liksessies are strongly reduced. These results seem to indicate licking as an indicator of a low amount of stress within a herd. Several interesting weak-moderate relationships were found between the three locations and tactile communication, which may lead to further investigation in the future.