In the municipality of Saboyá, Boyacá, Colombia, the number of Haematobia irritans flies, coat temperature, respiratory rate, motor activity, flight distance, level of dirt and occurrence of subclinical mastitis were evaluated as indicators of animal welfare in Holstein cows reared in a silvopastoral system (association of Cenchrus clandestinus and Alnus acuminata) and a traditional system based on grazing C. clandestinus in monoculture. Monthly samplings were carried out between August 2015 and May 2016 in 20-30 lactating cows selected at random in each farm. The data were analyzed using generalized linear regression models. The number of flies per animal was higher (p<0.05) in the traditional system compared to the silvopastoral system (56 ± 47.5 and 44 ± 40.0 flies/animal, respectively); the average coat temperature in the animals of the traditional system was 37.4 ºC, while 3...

In the municipality of Saboyá, Boyacá, Colombia, the number of Haematobia irritans flies, coat temperature, respiratory rate, motor activity, flight distance, level of dirt and occurrence of subclinical mastitis were evaluated as indicators of animal welfare in Holstein cows reared in a silvopastoral system (association of Cenchrus clandestinus and Alnus acuminata) and a traditional system based on grazing C. clandestinus in monoculture. Monthly samplings were carried out between August 2015 and May 2016 in 20-30 lactating cows selected at random in each farm. The data were analyzed using generalized linear regression models. The number of flies per animal was higher (p<0.05) in the traditional system compared to the silvopastoral system (56 ± 47.5 and 44 ± 40.0 flies/animal, respectively); the average coat temperature in the animals of the traditional system was 37.4 ºC, while 3...

The objective of this study was to determine the noise levels during milking inmechanical milking systems (fixed and mobile) and their relationship with animal welfareand milk quality. The noise levels were measured in eight farms located in the municipalitiesof La Sabana de Bogotá (Colombia). The exposure of cows to noise was measured in themilking parlour (RUME), in the milking parlour before the milking (RUIN) and at the endof milking, with the equipment turned off (RUFI). Milking was also classified according to the noise level as noisy milking and milking with tolerable noise. The groups were comparedin relation to the production, composition and quality of milk, as well as behavior associatedwith stress. Significant differences were found for the somatic cell count and the numberof mesophilic bacteria (p<0.05), being higher in the so-called noisy milking.

El objetivo del trabajo fue determinar los niveles de ruido durante el ordeño de vacasen sistemas de ordeño mecánico (fijo y móvil) y su relación con el bienestar animal y lacalidad de la leche. Los niveles de ruido se midieron en ocho granjas ubicadas en municipiosde la Sabana de Bogotá. La exposición al ruido de las vacas se midió en la sala deordeño (RUME), durante la parada en el área antes de la sala de ordeño (RUIN) y al finaldel ordeño, con el equipo apagado (RUFI). Independientemente del tipo de ordeño, losordeños fueron clasificados según el nivel de ruido como ordeño ruidoso (OR) y ordeñocon ruido tolerable (OT). Los grupos se compararon en relación con la producción,composición y calidad de la leche, así como con los comportamientos asociados al estrés.Se encontraron diferencias significativas para el recuento de células somáticas y el númerode bacteri...

The aim of this observational-cross-sectional study was to determine the attitudes of producers regarding the welfare (CW) of double-purpose (DP) cattle. A face-to-face survey was carried out with 20 DP producers from Meta, Colombia to quantify their perceptions (using 5-point Likert scales) on the level of impact that environmental, health and management aspects have on CW and on the level of importance of indicators (environmental, management, health and affective states) of CW evaluation. The average scores awarded to each aspect and indicator were calculated. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess differences between categories of impact aspects and between categories of indicators. The health aspects were considered the ones with had the greatest impact (4.07/5), while the indicators of affective states were considered the least important (3.82). The key aspects categorized as '...