Qualitative assessment of social behaviour of dairy cows housed in loose housing systems

This study evaluates the qualitative assessment of dairy cows’ social behaviour on farm with regard to its inter- and intra-observer reliability and its correlation to quantitative ethogram-based assessment. Qualitative behaviour assessment is a method based upon the integration by observers of perceived animal behaviour expression, using descriptors such as ‘calm’, ‘aggressive’, ‘sociable’ or ‘indifferent’. Cows’ behaviour at the drinker was video recorded in five commercial dairy herds with loose housing systems. Qualitative assessment of 25 video clips showing various types of cows’ interaction was provided in two replicate studies by 12 experienced dairy cow observers, through the use of a methodology called free choice profiling (FCP). This method gives the observers complete freedom to choose their own descriptive terms. Furthermore, an ethogram was used to quantify the cows’ social behaviour in the same 25 video clips. The ethogram included frequency and duration of social licking, head and body sniffing, pushing, head butting, fighting and behavioural response to pushing or head butting. Data of the qualitative assessment were analysed with generalised procrustes analysis (GPA), a multivariate statistical technique associated with FCP. The correlation between qualitative and the quantitative assessment of the 25 video clips was investigated by calculating Spearman rank correlation between the qualitative assessments and the calculated frequencies and proportional durations of the ethogram measures. The results indicate that observers showed significant agreement in their qualitative assessments (P < 0.001) and could accurately repeat these assessments (P < 0.001). The GPA found two main dimensions of assessed social behaviour expression in dairy cattle which together explain 74% of the variation observed. Dimension 1

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