Effect of temporal water restrictions on drinking behavior and time budget in lactating dairy cows according to their position in the social hierarchy within the herd.

On dairy farms, milking practices can temporarily restrict cows from accessing drinking water. This study examined how different types of temporary water restriction, similar to those commonly encountered on farms, may affect the individual behavior and physiological dehydration status of cows and whether these effects could differ according to the cow's position in the social hierarchy of the group. Four treatments were applied (CTRL = free access to the drinker and feed fence, HL = 2 h of headlock at the feed fence after morning and evening milking, D2H = free access to the feed fence and no access to water for 2 h after milking and D4H = free access to the feed fence and no access to water for 4 h after milking) to 4 groups of 10 lactating dairy cows using a 4 × 4 Latin square design.

Interaction between drinker density and cow social dominance affects drinking behavior.

Dairy cow welfare and milk production levels can be negatively affected when animals lack access to sufficient amounts of good-quality drinking water. Farms vary greatly in how well they meet this standard. Here, we explored how the interaction between drinker density and social dominance level influenced the drinking behaviors of a group of 40 mid-lactation cows.