UWB positioning systems offer innovative solutions for precision monitoring dairy cow behaviour and social dynamics, yet their performance in complex commercial barn environments requires thorough validation. This study evaluated the TrackLab 2.13 (Noldus) UWB system in a dairy barn housing 44-49 cows.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of the study was to investigate the effects of housing (deep litter + concrete floor vs. deep litter + ground soil with the possibility to dig burrows), and genotype (Mecklenburg or Hyplus) on aggressive behaviour, social contacts, does' and kits' injuries, and progeny mortality. Twelve groups of six rabbit does (n = 72) were assigned to four treatments (two housing systems and two genotypes).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost dairy calves are housed individually in early ontogeny but social housing has positive effects on calf welfare including an advantage of social buffering, i.e., when negative effects of stress are mitigated through social support of conspecific.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndividual housing of dairy calves prevails in Europe and North America despite its negative effects on calf development. One of the main reasons is that farmers find individual housing of calves more practical than group housing. A compromise between practice and welfare could be housing calves in pairs.
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