We are grateful to PD Dr. Lorenz Gygax for his support during the statistical analysis and Dr. Verena Lietze for professional proofreading. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U.
PLoS One. Published online Jun Alan McElligott, Editor. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Received Jan 16; Accepted Jun 4. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. S2 Dataset: Data on heart rate variability. S1 Fig: Hay rack that was used to restrain the cows.
S2 Fig: Effect of head movement on amplitude measured by a dosimeter in the halter. S1 Sound File: Sound file of the bells used. S1 Video: Cow grazing with a functional bell. Abstract In alpine regions cows are often equipped with bells. Introduction Noise is described as an acute, chronic or intermittent sound [ 1 ], which can act as a potential stressor in farmed species such as pigs [ 2 ], [ 3 ], horses [ 4 ], goats [ 5 ],[ 6 ] and cattle [ 1 ],[ 7 ], [ 8 ], [ 9 ].
Animals, housing and management In this study, we used 19 dry, multiparous Brown-Swiss cows with an average milk yield of 8, kg per days of standard lactation, between 3 and 10 years of age.
Table 1 Experimental design. Open in a separate window. Data collection The experiment was conducted during the grazing season May to November in six consecutive batches using one unique group of focal cows per batch. Fig 1. Experimental cow wearing a bell and measuring equipment. Fig 2. Amplitudes of the bells at distances up to 80 m [dB A ].
Table 2 Frequency characteristics and amplitudes of the bells used in the experiment recorded at a distance of approx. Behavioural observations The experimental design resulted in a sample size of 38 cow-days i.
Nearest neighbour distance Using the scan sampling method [ 42 ], the distance between each focal cow and the nearest focal or non-focal cow was recorded on the first and third experimental day outside the common resting time.
Heart rate variability Heart rate variability was recorded using Polar Equine Polar Elektro Europe BV, Zug, Switzerland, g , allowing a non-invasive measurement of heartbeats [ 32 ]. Statistical analyses Linear mixed-effects models were performed for the different outcome variables defined above using the lmer method from the lme4 package [ 45 ] in R version 3.
Fig 3. Effects of bells on the behaviour of dairy cows on pasture. Discussion Compared with the no bell treatment, feeding duration was reduced with a silent bell.
Conclusion Wearing a bell for 3 days interfered with feeding, ruminating and lying behaviours as well as head movements of cows compared with not wearing a bell, but it did not affect heart rate variability. Supporting Information S1 Dataset Data on behaviour.
TXT Click here for additional data file. S2 Dataset Data on heart rate variability. S1 Fig Hay rack that was used to restrain the cows. TIF Click here for additional data file. S2 Fig Effect of head movement on amplitude measured by a dosimeter in the halter. DOCX Click here for additional data file. S1 Sound File Sound file of the bells used. WAV Click here for additional data file. S1 Video Cow grazing with a functional bell.
MP4 Click here for additional data file. Acknowledgments Our special thanks go to the farmer and his family for giving us the opportunity to perform our experiment with their cows as well as to Dr.
Data Availability All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. References 1. J Dairy Sci 76 : — Appl Anim Behav Sci 48 : — Anim Sci 78 : — Appl Anim Behav Sci 93 : 53— Johns J, Patt A, Hillmann E Effects of sounds of different quality on the behaviour and heart beat parameters of goats. Appl Anim Behav Sci : 72— Act Cardiol 67 : — Appl Anim Behav Sci 62 : 27— Appl Anim Behav Sci : 13— Appl Anim Behav Sci : — Kanitz E, Otten W, Tuchscherer M Central and peripheral effects of repeated noise stress on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in pigs.
Livest Prod Sci 94 : — J Dairy Sci 89 : — Appl Anim Behav Sci 58 : — Behav Neurosci 97 : — J Dairy Sci 92 : — Phys Behav 90 : — Journal of Animal Science 76 : — Beauchemin K Ingestion and mastication of feed by dairy cattle. J Dairy Sci 97 : — Frankfurt a. Competence Center Agriculture and Food Business. Anim Welf 21 : — Jensen MB, Pedersen LJ, Munksgaard L The effect of reward duration on demand functions for rest in dairy heifers and lying requirements as measured by demand functions.
Appl Anim Behav Sci 90 : — Appl Anim Behav Sci 13 : — Munksgaard L, Simonsen HB Behavioral and pituitary adrenal-axis responses of dairy cows to social isolation and deprivation of lying down.
J Anim Sci 74 : — J Dairy Sci 87 : — Vet J : — J Dairy Sci 93 : — Gygax L, Neuffer I, Kaufmann C, Hauser R, Wechsler B Restlessness behaviour, heart rate and heart-rate variability of dairy cows milked in two types of automatic milking systems and auto-tandem milking parlours. Anzccart News 21 : 1—4. Phys Behav 92 : — Collins, CO. Helmreich S, Wechsler B, Jungbluth T, Hauser R Validation of a novel data logger for recording lying behaviour of dairy cows and its application on robotic milking farms.
Appl Anim Behav Sci : 47— Appl Anim Behav Sci : 56— Accessed 6 January Agrarforschung Schweiz 2 : 60— BMC Vet Res 9 Martin P, Bateson P Measuring behaviour 3rd edition. New York: Cambridge University Press. R Core Team R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Phys Behav 82 , — Halekoh U, Hojsgaard S A Kenward-Roger approximation and parametric bootstrap methods for tests in linear mixed models; the R package pbkrtest.
J Stat Softw 59 9 : 1— Broucek J Effect of noise on performance, stress and behaviour of animals. Slovak J Anim Sc 47 : — Rangifer 9 : — Kovalcik K, Sottnik J Effect of noise on the milking efficiency of cows.
J Dairy Sci 94 : — J Dairy Sci 95 : — J Dairy Sci 90 : — Innere Medizin und Chirurgie des Rindes. Stuttgart: Parey Verlag; pp. Brit J Nutr 15 : — Can J Anim Sci 80 : — Phys Behav : — Support Center Support Center. If one wanders off a cliff in search of greener grass, the others follow. One time at the high Alp above our village, 40 cows performed this stunt. They died like lemmings. With a local friend leading the way, the Alps become a lively world of tumbling cows, cut-glass peaks, and fragrant meadows trimmed by a pastel carpet of flowers: gold clover, milk kraut, daisies, and bell flowers.
Here in the Berner Oberland region, traditional Swiss cow farmers could make more money for much easier work in another profession. In a good year, farmers produce enough cheese to break even. They support their families on government subsidies. But these farmers have made a lifestyle choice to keep tradition alive and to live high in the mountains. And around here, rather than lose their children to the cities, Swiss farmers have the opposite problem: Kids argue over who gets to take over the family herd.
With the arrival of summer usually mid-June , the farmer straps elaborate ceremonial bells on his cows and takes them up to a hut at high elevations. When the cows arrive at their summer home, the bells are hung under the eaves. The cows stay at the alps for about days. For the study, 19 non-lactating Brown-Swiss cows with bell experience were assigned to 3 different treatments. For 3 days each, cows were equipped with no bell control , with a bell with inactivated clapper silent bell or with a functional bell functional bell.
The bells weighed 5. Data was collected on either the first and third or on all 3 days of each treatment. An experimental cow wearing a bell and measuring equipment: A thorax belt for measuring heart rate variability, a halter for recording feeding, ruminating, and head movements, and a 3D accelerometer at the hind leg for recording activity and lying.
Whereas duration of rumination was reduced with a functional bell and a silent bell compared with no bell, feeding duration was reduced with a silent bell and was intermediate with a functional bell. Head movements were reduced when wearing a silent bell compared with no bell and tended to be reduced when wearing a functional compared to no bell.
With a functional bell, lying duration was reduced by almost 4 hours on the third day of treatment compared with the first day with a functional bell and compared with no bell or a silent bell.
0コメント