Behavioural Engagement of Holstein Friesian Dairy Cattle with Different Mounting Techniques for Salt Licks as Environmental Enrichment

TL;DR

This study found that low, freely moving salt lick blocks are most effective for engaging dairy cows and improving their welfare.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel approach to environmental enrichment for dairy cattle by comparing different mounting techniques for salt lick blocks.

Findings

Low moveable salt lick blocks significantly increased herd interactions and salt consumption.

High moveable blocks reduced new interactions and were less effective for enrichment.

Cows showed minimal habituation to low moveable blocks over time.

Abstract

During this study, a UK dairy herd was observed in order to gain further understanding into how design strategies for environmental enrichment alter overall herd engagement. This was assessed by altering mounting setups for salt lick blocks and measuring how the cattle then interacted with them. The setup treatments were low freely hanging blocks, low stationary blocks, and high moveable blocks. This study examined whether these mounting techniques influenced individual cattle and herd interactions. It was found that the total number of new interactions were significantly reduced in the high moveable blocks, but greatly increased with low moveable blocks. It was also found that the overall consumption of salt lick, in kilograms, was significantly increased in the low moveable setup. These findings support the conclusion that salt licks hung to freely move at low heights will maximize the uptake of environmental enrichment. This will then give farmers more efficient ways to increase the overall welfare of their animals and reduce the instances of stereotypies seen within the production animal industry.

With increasing numbers of dairy farms adopting zero-grazing systems, there is a growing need for indoor environmental enrichment methods. Enrichment is necessary to meet industry requirements and fulfil behavioural motivations, such as oral manipulation. This study evaluated the magnitude with which Holstein Freisen cows would interact with salt lick enrichment blocks based on the mounting design. Holstein Freisen dairy cows (n = 55) were recruited from a UK dairy farm and observed over a 4-week period (n = 20 days). Three different mounting designs were utilized, low non-moveable (LNM), low moveable (LM), and high moveable (HM), and the LNM setup was repeated on week 4. These mounting designs were each observed over a five-day period and then removed for two days in-between. Data were collected by in-person observation and included cow IDs, instances of interaction, and kilograms of salt lick used per setup. The data were analysed through IBM SPSS Statistics via a One-Way Repeated Measures ANOVA and Microsoft Excel to determine significant findings and habituation. The number of new interactions significantly decreased in the HM setup compared to the LM and LNM. The supporting data of kilograms of salt lick used and total percentage of the herd utilizing the blocks, also favoured the LM setups over LNM. The LNM setup was repeated on the final week to assess the level with which cows had habituated to the environmental enrichment. Despite a significant difference between week 1 and week 4, the trends of cow interactions showed individual variability in habituation and overall negligible herd-level habituation. These findings suggest that the use of mineral licks within a dairy herd serves as effective environmental enrichment, even over extended time periods, and when implemented they are best used at low heights with the ability to have free movement. When implemented on a farm, the LM mounting design should increase the herd-level uptake of enrichment leading to a reduction in stereotypies and fulfilment of oral motivation, which is beneficial for overall cow health and welfare.

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