Hoofing it to New Homes: How the transition towards a new housing system is experienced by dairy cows.
Authors: Catherine Arpin and Marjorie Cellier and Tania Wolfe and Hayda Almeida and Célia Julliot and Marianne Villettaz Robichaud and Abdoulaye Baniré Diallo and Elsa Vasseur
Date: 2025-05-01
Status: Published
In response to a 2023 change in the Dairy Code of Practice that prohibits continuous tethering as of 2027, there is a predicted rise in the construction of free-stall and stall-free barns, and more cows transitioning between housing systems. The transition period of dairy cattle after a housing change is of interest from a welfare standpoint as there are behavioural adjustments, and potential stressors that could influence their ability to adapt to a new environment. Therefore, this study aims to understand how the transition towards a new barn is experienced by lactating dairy cows and is divided into 2 case studies: (1) Examining how the transition to a new housing system affects the cows' time-budget and how long it takes to stabilize, and (2) Assessing how previous housing system influences the behaviour of cows and their reactivity to milking once they have adapted to their new environment.
Thirty-eight cows from various farms were relocated to a bedded-pack barn on an enrollment basis. Initially, cows remained in their original groups for 10 days before being regrouped into larger groups. Data was collected after arrival via video recordings (2-3 hours, three times per day, three times a week, for 5 weeks) and live observations of milking reactivity at the parlour, conducted twice weekly. In the first case study, we will establish the time-budget of two groups (n=8 & 11 cows) using scan sampling at the group level. In the second case study, the individual time-budgets of a subsample of cows from four groups (n=8-11 per group) will be assessed by scan sampling for two weeks following regrouping, and analysed to explore how previous housing system affects the behaviours of dairy cows once adapted to their environment. As for milking reactivity, preliminary results showed that more tie-stall cows were reactive than free-stall cows on the first and last day of the experiment. Behaviours include kicking (1st day: tie stall=12.5% of cows