The increasing attention paid both by the legislator and the consumers regarding animal welfare has brought to the development of new building-type cattle's housing. The present investigation compared some productive parameters and aspects concerning animal welfare in Limousine cattle held in two different housing systems. The experiment lasted four months and was carried out on a farm located in the south of Tuscany. Thirty-six females, homogeneous for weight and age, were divided into two groups and were housed in different structures: “sided housing” (SH) and “open-sided housing” (OSH). Microclimatic data were checked in order to verify differences in environment conditions. Live weight was recorded at the beginning and at the end of the trial as well haematological analysis. Moreover ANI 35L method was applied in order to assess the suitability of farming structure on animal welfare requirements. Animals were slaughtered in a EU licensed commercial abattoir: carcass length, depth of chest, length of leg, maximum width of leg were measured, firmness index and carcass yield were calculated. Data were examined by the variance analysis. Environment condition significantly differed in all tested parameters: temperature, humidity and wind speed. Haematological parameters were comprised in the interval of physiological values with the exception for glucose but were not influenced by the type of structure. Neutrophils/Lymphocyte ratio resulted out of the range in either group but in different period of sampling suggesting the presence of stressful factor linked with microclimatic conditions. Mean carcass weights and ADG were similar in the groups (266.29 vs 254.90 and 1.06 vs 0.9 respectively in “SH” and “OSH”). Longitudinal measures of carcass showed significant differences between the groups with higher values in the “SH” group. ANI 35L method highlighted a greater score in the “OSH” structure thanks to the better conditions about ventilation, flooring.
Comparison of two rearing system on productive performance and welfare parameters in Limousine cattle
GIULIOTTI, LORELLA;BIBBIANI, CARLO;BENVENUTI, MARIA NOVELLA
2012-01-01
Abstract
The increasing attention paid both by the legislator and the consumers regarding animal welfare has brought to the development of new building-type cattle's housing. The present investigation compared some productive parameters and aspects concerning animal welfare in Limousine cattle held in two different housing systems. The experiment lasted four months and was carried out on a farm located in the south of Tuscany. Thirty-six females, homogeneous for weight and age, were divided into two groups and were housed in different structures: “sided housing” (SH) and “open-sided housing” (OSH). Microclimatic data were checked in order to verify differences in environment conditions. Live weight was recorded at the beginning and at the end of the trial as well haematological analysis. Moreover ANI 35L method was applied in order to assess the suitability of farming structure on animal welfare requirements. Animals were slaughtered in a EU licensed commercial abattoir: carcass length, depth of chest, length of leg, maximum width of leg were measured, firmness index and carcass yield were calculated. Data were examined by the variance analysis. Environment condition significantly differed in all tested parameters: temperature, humidity and wind speed. Haematological parameters were comprised in the interval of physiological values with the exception for glucose but were not influenced by the type of structure. Neutrophils/Lymphocyte ratio resulted out of the range in either group but in different period of sampling suggesting the presence of stressful factor linked with microclimatic conditions. Mean carcass weights and ADG were similar in the groups (266.29 vs 254.90 and 1.06 vs 0.9 respectively in “SH” and “OSH”). Longitudinal measures of carcass showed significant differences between the groups with higher values in the “SH” group. ANI 35L method highlighted a greater score in the “OSH” structure thanks to the better conditions about ventilation, flooring.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
