| Stall is used to settle cows for a long time, in which dairy cows like lying most of the time. It takes 12 to 13 hours every day for lying, and 35 to 175 minutes for standing in the free stall。Cows like soft bedding Department to rest and rumination, do not like resting on hard gound. Therefore, the ground quality is good or bad, not only can affect the discounted micro-climate, health, cows rest and rumination, but also the production performance of dairy cows. When the cows were restricted in the concrete floor, their social behavior was changed, and dairy cows standing time became longer. Comfortable of cows could enhance health, increase milk production and growth of productive life due to improved animal welfare.In this research, applied animal behaviour was used to study on the effect of brick floor, wooden boards, matress and corn cob bedding materials free-stall on the preference by dairy cattle. The experiments were divided into restriction testing and preference testing, by which a comprehensive comparison was made among cattle lying and standing time, times, and other behavior state. Thus the most beneficial to the growth of dairy cattle, live, rest and express normal behavior of free stall environments were selected from the four free stall environment to meet the needs of welfare and dairy cattle.20 of healthy and aged 6 to 12 months of Holstein heifers were selected, randomly divided into 4 groups. Their activities were video-recorded for 24h and behavioral parameters such as total lying and standing time, the number of lying and standing per 24h, and other behaviors related to comfort were analyzed. The effect of the restrict free stall environment on expression of dairy cattle behavior test, each test cattle were fed for a week at a single test environment under the conditions of the four; cows in free choice condition with different environmental conditions preferences tests, each test cattle were provided two kinds of mixed-bed environment from the four experimental conditions for a weekDuring the observation, each cattle was observation was taken placed on 4th and 6th day of the week. Take the Continuous Recording to collect parameters, The lying and standing time, the number of other acts of lying in different free-stall were recorded Within 24 hours.Comprehensive comparison was made on the selected parameters.The restriction testing results showed that the total lying time on the corn cob bedding (813.00±46.24min/d), and mattress (774.60±25.45min/d) was significantly higher than on wooden floor (452.00±31.92min/d) and brick floor (651.80±27.65min/d, p<0.05); The total standing time (99.40±8.08min/d) and the average standing time(9.58±0.38min) per lying by dairy heifers on the com cob bedding was significantly higher than other groups (p<0.05); When lying in the free stall,the time spent in the cows heads with an upright position was significantly higher than in other head positions (p<0.05).The preference testing results showed that the total lying time on the corn cob bedding is the longest (28840 min/d), the total lying time on the wooden floor is the shortest (3536 min/d) for differents of free-stall environment in 24h. The total standing time on the matress is the longest (4240 min/d), the total standing time on the corn cob bedding is the shortest (2392min/d) for differents of free-stall environment in 24h.In conclusion, the heifers lying or standing on corn cob bedding and mattress showed more comfortable behaviour than on other bedding materials during the rest. Bedding the corn cob and mattress contribute to the heifers rest and improve animal welfare.
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