Influence of raised temperature in the barn on the behavior of milking cows

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to determine the effect of high air temperature on the behavior of high-yielding dairy
cows of the Holstein breed under different housing conditions and to find ways to optimize the technology to reduce
the negative effects of heat stress in cows. Ethological research was conducted on a lactating dairy herd in a frame
barn consisting of a metal structure. The control group was kept on an automatic leash, while the experimental group
was kept in boxes without a leash. Measurements showed that the temperature inside the cowshed strongly depended
on the external temperature of the environment. Research has established that the temperature of the mixed feed fed
to lactating cows depended on the temperature inside the cowshed. Throughout the day, this increased by 4.17 °C in
Barn 1, while in Barn 2 the highest feed temperature was recorded at nine o'clock and decreased by 1.47 °C at
eighteen o'clock. In the control barn, where the average temperature was higher, the proportion of cows resting
standing was 9.0 percentage points higher than in the experimental barn. On the other hand, the time spent eating
feed was 8.34 percentage points higher in the control barn, with no significant difference in feed consumption,
possibly due to the slower activity of this process. The amount of standing rest varied throughout the day and
increased to 20 % before milking. The physical activity of lactating cows decreased due to the high temperature in
the cowshed. Water consumption by lactating cows increased by 4 % in response to high barn temperatures during
the day, as indicated by the large number of animals that rested standing after feeding. In the unleashed large-group
keeping of lactating cows, the animals in the technological groups are in a hierarchical relationship, which affects
the animals' access to water and the average daily milk yield. The physical activity of lactating cows in group at
higher temperatures was low and significantly increased before and after milking.