A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cows
ABSTRACT: A short-term study was conducted to compare the effect of using poplar wood chips (PWC) instead of wheat straw (WS) litter in dairy cows. A total of 38 lactating Holstein cows (204 ± 119 days in milk, 26.9 ± 6.5 kg of milk yield [MY]) were housed in a tiestall farm for a 10-d trial includi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223004514 |
| _version_ | 1797390601325379584 |
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| author | M. Simoni N. Mezzasalma R. Pitino C.L. Manuelian C. Spadini M. Iannarelli S.L. Montanaro A. Summer C.S. Cabassi M. De Marchi F. Righi |
| author_facet | M. Simoni N. Mezzasalma R. Pitino C.L. Manuelian C. Spadini M. Iannarelli S.L. Montanaro A. Summer C.S. Cabassi M. De Marchi F. Righi |
| author_sort | M. Simoni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: A short-term study was conducted to compare the effect of using poplar wood chips (PWC) instead of wheat straw (WS) litter in dairy cows. A total of 38 lactating Holstein cows (204 ± 119 days in milk, 26.9 ± 6.5 kg of milk yield [MY]) were housed in a tiestall farm for a 10-d trial including 5 d of adaptation followed by 5 sampling days (from d 5 to 10). Cows were divided into 2 homogeneous groups: one group was bedded with WS, and the second with PWC. Both litter materials were provided in the amount of 7 kg/stall per d. Each group was composed of 3 subgroups of 6 or 7 cows; the subgroups were physically separated along the feeding line by wooden boards. During the sampling days, fecal composition, used litter composition, and bacterial count (Clostridium spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus, and total bacterial count) were analyzed by subgroup twice a day. On d 1 and from d 5 to 10, udder hygiene score and cow cleanliness score were also evaluated individually twice a day. Meanwhile MY, milk hygiene (total bacterial count [TBC], coliform bacterial count [CBC], and spore-forming units [SFU]) and quality were measured and analyzed from 9 animals per group. Moreover, individual animal behavior (body position and behavioral traits) and subgroup dry matter intake were measured on d 9 and 10. Fecal dry matter did not differ between groups, PWC had the lowest used litter moisture and N content favoring the highest clean cow frequency, but also gave rise to the greatest used litter microbial contamination. The MY, milk quality, TBC, SFU, and CBC were similar. The lying behavior frequency was similar between groups. However, the PWC group showed the lowest sleeping frequency, the highest frequency of other behaviors (including discomfort signs), and the lowest dry matter intake. However, despite this apparent reduction in cow comfort, no biologically important differences were observed in this short-term study between cows on PWC and WS in milk production or hygiene. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:13:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-351572ece7164c4c8a3de242538e61b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:13:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-351572ece7164c4c8a3de242538e61b32023-12-15T07:21:50ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022023-12-011061291509163A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cowsM. Simoni0N. Mezzasalma1R. Pitino2C.L. Manuelian3C. Spadini4M. Iannarelli5S.L. Montanaro6A. Summer7C.S. Cabassi8M. De Marchi9F. Righi10Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; Corresponding authorsDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; Corresponding authorsDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy; Group of Ruminant Research (G2R), Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, SpainDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, ItalyABSTRACT: A short-term study was conducted to compare the effect of using poplar wood chips (PWC) instead of wheat straw (WS) litter in dairy cows. A total of 38 lactating Holstein cows (204 ± 119 days in milk, 26.9 ± 6.5 kg of milk yield [MY]) were housed in a tiestall farm for a 10-d trial including 5 d of adaptation followed by 5 sampling days (from d 5 to 10). Cows were divided into 2 homogeneous groups: one group was bedded with WS, and the second with PWC. Both litter materials were provided in the amount of 7 kg/stall per d. Each group was composed of 3 subgroups of 6 or 7 cows; the subgroups were physically separated along the feeding line by wooden boards. During the sampling days, fecal composition, used litter composition, and bacterial count (Clostridium spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus, and total bacterial count) were analyzed by subgroup twice a day. On d 1 and from d 5 to 10, udder hygiene score and cow cleanliness score were also evaluated individually twice a day. Meanwhile MY, milk hygiene (total bacterial count [TBC], coliform bacterial count [CBC], and spore-forming units [SFU]) and quality were measured and analyzed from 9 animals per group. Moreover, individual animal behavior (body position and behavioral traits) and subgroup dry matter intake were measured on d 9 and 10. Fecal dry matter did not differ between groups, PWC had the lowest used litter moisture and N content favoring the highest clean cow frequency, but also gave rise to the greatest used litter microbial contamination. The MY, milk quality, TBC, SFU, and CBC were similar. The lying behavior frequency was similar between groups. However, the PWC group showed the lowest sleeping frequency, the highest frequency of other behaviors (including discomfort signs), and the lowest dry matter intake. However, despite this apparent reduction in cow comfort, no biologically important differences were observed in this short-term study between cows on PWC and WS in milk production or hygiene.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223004514milk compositiontotal bacterial countbedding materialsorganic |
| spellingShingle | M. Simoni N. Mezzasalma R. Pitino C.L. Manuelian C. Spadini M. Iannarelli S.L. Montanaro A. Summer C.S. Cabassi M. De Marchi F. Righi A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cows Journal of Dairy Science milk composition total bacterial count bedding materials organic |
| title | A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cows |
| title_full | A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cows |
| title_fullStr | A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cows |
| title_full_unstemmed | A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cows |
| title_short | A short-term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene, milk, and behavior of lactating dairy cows |
| title_sort | short term comparison of wheat straw and poplar wood chips used as litter in tiestalls on hygiene milk and behavior of lactating dairy cows |
| topic | milk composition total bacterial count bedding materials organic |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223004514 |
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