Application of the Welfare Quality protocol to dairy buffalo farms: Prevalence and reliability of selected measures.

Within the general aim of developing a Welfare Quality system for monitoring dairy buffalo welfare, this study focused on prevalence and interobserver reliability of the animal-related variables to be included in the scheme. As most of the measures were developed for cattle, the study also aimed to verify their prevalence for buffaloes. Thirty animal-based measures (22 clinical and 8 behavioral measurements) and 20 terms used for qualitative behavior assessment were assessed in 42 loose-housed buffalo farms. All farms were located in central-southern Italy. Two assessors were used (1 male and 1 female). The time needed to record all measures (animal-, resource-, and management-based) was 5.47 ± 0.48 h (mean ± SD). Interobserver reliability of animal-based measures was evaluated using Spearman rank correlation coefficient test (rs). If 0.7 is considered as threshold for high interobserver reliability, all animal-based measures were above this level. In particular, most of the coefficients were above 0.85, with higher values observed for prevalence of animals that can be touched (rs = 0.99) and prevalence of animals with iatrogenic abscess (rs = 0.97), whereas lower coefficients were found for the prevalence of vulvar discharge (rs = 0.74) and dewlap edema (rs = 0.73). Twelve out of the 20 terms used for the qualitative behavior assessment reached a satisfactory interobserver reliability (rs = 0.65). Principal component analysis of qualitative behavior assessment scores was conducted for each assessor. Both principal component 1 and principal component 2 showed high interobserver reliability (rs = 0.80 and 0.79, respectively). In addition, relevant proportions of animals were affected by welfare issues specific to buffaloes, such as overgrown claws (median = 34.1%), withers hygroma (median = 13.3%), and vulvar or uterine prolapse (median = 9.3%). We concluded that most of the investigated measures could be reliably included in the final scheme, which can be used as such to monitor buffalo welfare. However, to inform consumers about the welfare status of the animals, the data should be integrated into a single overall assessment of animal welfare, as already performed in the Welfare Quality project for dairy cattle.

Behavior and milk production of buffalo cows as affected by housing system.

To verify the effect of 2 housing systems (with and without a pool and an ample outdoor lot) on behavior and milk yield, 45 lactating buffalo cows were group-housed in a free stall open-sided barn with concrete floor where they received 10 m(2)/head as space allowance (group NP); 43 cows were group-housed in a similar barn, but had access to an outdoor yard (36 m(2)/head) and a concrete pool of 208 m(2) (group WP). Animals were subjected to 8 sessions of instantaneous scan sampling at approximately 10-d intervals. Behavioral variables were expressed as proportions of subjects observed in each category of posture and activity. In addition, rapid behaviors such as agonistic, social, and reproductive interactions, social licking, and self-grooming were recorded continuously. These variables were expressed as number of interactions per animal. At the end of each hour of observation, temperature and relative humidity were recorded. In WP the proportion of animals observed wallowing was 0.476 +/- 0.034, whereas lower proportions were observed standing (0.389 +/- 0.029) or lying (0.141 +/- 0.021) outside the pool. In NP the proportions of animals observed standing and lying were 0.452 +/- 0.042 and 0.548 +/- 0.042, respectively. A significant relationship between mean temperatures recorded on observation days and proportion of animals in the pool was observed (r(s) = 0.41). Fewer animals from group WP were observed idling compared with buffaloes from group NP (0.44 +/- 0.024 vs. 0.509 +/- 0.024, respectively), whereas more WP animals were involved in investigative activities than NP cows (0.099 +/- 0.009 vs. 0.042 +/- 0.009, respectively). A greater number of social interactions (sniffing and nuzzling) and social lickings were observed in group WP than in group NP (0.120 +/- 0.010 vs. 0.067 +/- 0.010, and 0.151 +/- 0.018 vs. 0.090 +/- 0.018, respectively). The WP buffalo cows had a greater milk yield than NP cows (11.73 +/- 0.31 vs. 10.78 +/- 0.28 kg/d, respectively), whereas no differences between groups were observed for protein (4.86 +/- 0.04 vs. 4.80 +/- 0.03% for WP and NP, respectively) and fat contents (8.49 +/- 0.14 vs. 8.38 +/- 0.13% for WP and NP, respectively). We conclude that the provision of a pool and an ample outdoor paddock can have beneficial effects on welfare and milk production of buffaloes.