Dairy cows with mild-moderate mastitis change lying behavior in hospital pens.

In dairy production, mastitis is a major problem affecting animal welfare, productivity, and economy. Hospital pens are typically not used for cows with mastitis, except for severe cases involving recumbency. This field trial included 47 cows from three Danish herds followed for 8 d, of which days 1-5 involved the experimental housing.

Better recovery from lameness among dairy cows housed in hospital pens.

Housing in hospital pens may be beneficial for lame cows due to soft flooring and less competition for resources. We compared recovery from lameness among dairy cows housed in designated hospital pens, with deep-litter straw, with recovery among cows housed together with the rest of the lactating cows in their home pens, with cubicles and slatted or solid concrete floors. Additionally, we compared lying behavior in the 2 groups of cows.

Transportation of Cull Sows-Deterioration of Clinical Condition From Departure and Until Arrival at the Slaughter Plant.

Cull sows may be more vulnerable to transportation compared to other swine categories, as they are typically culled after several production cycles, and hence may be injured or weak. Until now, transportation of sows has received very little scientific attention. We aimed to investigate whether the clinical condition of the sows changed during transportation from commercial Danish farms to slaughter plants, and to initiate identification of potential risk factors for such deterioration.

Transportation of cull sows-a descriptive study of the clinical condition of cull sows before transportation to slaughter.

Each year 500.000 sows, equal to 50% of Danish sows, are culled and transported to slaughter. However, the clinical condition, behavior, and welfare of cull sows have received almost no scientific attention.

Housing of Cull Sows in the Hours before Transport to the Abattoir-An Initial Description of Sow Behaviour While Waiting in a Transfer Vehicle.

In modern pig production, sows are transported by road to abattoirs. For reasons of biosecurity, commercial trucks may have limited access to farms. According to Danish regulations, sows can be kept in stationary transfer vehicles away from the farm for up to two hours before being loaded onto the commercial truck.