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The effect of the stockperson on the behaviour of cattle
Janská, Jaroslava ; Chaloupková, Helena (advisor) ; Valníčková, Barbora (referee)
The thesis is focused on influence of keepers on cattle and it is pointing out the importance of cattles welfare that has also influence on economy of cattle breeding which is for keeper very important.
The concept of animals welfare is explained in the first part of thesis, because we can consider this concept to be the key concept and it occurs in every part of this thesis.
Following part is devoted to changes that cattle breeding have been facing recently. The changes are thanks to the shift in performance and thanks to modification of keepers, carers and customers ways of thinking. Doležal and Staněk (2015) point out so called breeding complex:
1. Breed (choice of breed, breeding itself)
2. Keeper (technological, nursing and veterinary care, working conditions and knowledge of employees)
3. Nutrition (quality production of top feed, compilation of rations)
4. Environment (quality requirements, ethology and welfare).
It is not possible to say that for the successful breeding we need only perfect race (genetics). It is impossible either to claim that the decisive factor is nutrition. Also the conviction that perfect stable and parlour makes the milk is mistaken. The perfect carers cannot create higher than average herd only by formidable care. The keeper has to see all of these aspects complexly and respect them.
At this point the thesis starts to focus on carers. It is obvious that quality of carers is rather neglected factor. This thesis describes analyses of carers nature and their approach towards their job in relation to behaviour dairy cows and their production pointers. In my thesis mentioned studies state that after designed and applied intervention of stereotyped behaviour of carers, that means treatment of dairy cows and approach to their work in farms - we can see increasing production of milk. The carers said that the dairy caws were calmer, it was easier to manipulate with them and that they are convinced that positive approach towards the animals has a huge positive effect.
The last part of the thesis shows how to apply found information into practice and how to proceed. Training of employees is one of the possibilities that start to be more and more important - not only abroad but in The Czech republic as well. Training is focused on
correct way of milking, taking care of cattle and hygiene in breeding, so that the health condition of dairy cows is good and the production is quality and harmless.
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Comparison of fertility and yield of Suffolk sheeps in the Czech Republic with some foreign Suffolk sheeps managements
Černá, Michaela ; Kracíková, Olga (advisor) ; Valníčková, Barbora (referee)
Suffolk breed is the English hornless breed which belongs to the breed of meat yield. Typical features are excellent maternal qualities, good milkiness of ewes and fertility, less fertile period (lambing mostly in winter and spring) and good adaptability to different climatic conditions and breeding conditions. The breed is characterized by a black outer coat on the face of the head and lower part of legs, wool is short, white, semi-fine.
Suffolk breed is characterized by high fertility throughout the production period ewes. Season, age, interval among lambing, body weight and body conditions score, nutrition, genetics, breeding and heat stress belong to the factors affecting fertility. When we compare fertility sheep breed Suffolk in the Czech Republic and Slovakia we achieved a higher number of ewes, improved fertility and fertilization. On the contrary, Slovakia has achieved better results in fertility at lambing ewe. It was also achieved in Canada in comparison with our republic.
It is a major prerequisite of the production of heavy great muscled slaughter lambs with very good quality meat at meat production. Meat production is influenced by hormones, nutrition, gender, influence year and month of lambing, ewes age, litter size on the dependent variable. The values are not very different when meat production in Suffolk breed is evaluated in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In spite of it, the Czech Republic achieves better results in weight of lambs at 100 days and the average daily gain. If we evaluate the difference between meat production in Canada and the Czech Republic in selected parameters such as birth weight of lambs, weight of lambs at 100 days of age and avarage daily gain, Canada clearly has much better results. The main cause is a different type of breed.
Increase fertility and meat production can be achieved mainly by improving reproduction and production indicators.
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The effect of environment on the behaviour and welfare dairy cattle
Zetková, Mariana ; Chaloupková, Helena (advisor) ; Valníčková, Barbora (referee)
Behavior and welfare of dairy cattle is determined by many factors of its surroundings. Whether we consider the environment of it´s habitat or stockpeople work. The goal of this thesis is describe influence of the behavior, health and production.
In a stable, there are some important factors. One of them is a micro-climate. Cattle is very liable to body-heat stres, because of its not-so-good body heat draining. Another thing stockpeople should focus on is bedding. Wet or pouled bedding is not only uncomfortable, but it also can cause lactal glad and lower limb health problems. Limping and udder infection are very frequent problem of cattle breeding.
In matter of cattle´s social behaviour, we must consider a it´s sense for hierarchy. Make groups by cattle´s age, size, or lactal phase and by other features. Enouhg space for feeding and a rest, to pretend any mutual aggressive interaction thus avoid stres or injuries of cattle.
Although a care and an attitude of stockpeople is being underetimated in many cases, they play a big role in animal breeding. The behaviour of stockpeople, for example, has an influence on animal´s feelings about people. If a milker is calm and has positive attitude, cows are more accessible and calmer while are giving milk. That affects milk production and cow´s mood as well.
A frequent topic to debate is prenatal stres of dairy cows. It is cause of taking calves away from their cow mother. However, opinions on this theme aren´t united and this topic is, as is stated at the beginnig of this paragraph, full of contradiction.
If we want to provide comfort to dairy cows, the main target is to provide them a proper place to sleep in, rest in, feeding, to care about their bodies, etc. That also means, that we should provide them the oportunity to natural behaviour and treat them as living beings, that percieve stimulus from their environment.
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The effect of environment on the behaviour of sheeps
Chválovská, Lucie ; Chaloupková, Helena (advisor) ; Valníčková, Barbora (referee)
This bachelor's thesis aims to compare the existing technologies and systems and to find a suitable stabling environment for sheep breeding in terms of their welfare and behavioural needs, and to put forward suggestions of how stabling might be enhanced. The bachelor's thesis was prepared based on research of specialist literature and articles.
At present, a good deal of emphasis is placed on animal welfare, which is governed by animal protection and welfare legislation. The research discussed points, in positive terms, towards group stabling, where sheep are more active and sleep less than those housed in individual stalls. Furthermore, in order to secure sheep welfare, the composition of the flock needs to be considered. The sheep should be of approximately the same age, weight, gender and horn size. The negative aspects include slippery floors putting the safety of the sheep at risk and result in more frequent limb injuries; however, wooden plank flooring with wide gaps also proves to be hazardous. This suggests that the floor should be dry, made of rubber or covered with bedding. The planks should be placed so as to prevent sheep from getting a limb caught in between the planks.
At present, enriching the surrounding environment not only of livestock is a suitable solution to increasing the quality of life. Research shows that, in comparison to conventional surroundings, the effects of enriched surroundings on the physiological and behavioural responses of sheep are positive. For example, the results of studies indicate that, in grazing, sheep prefer more varied pastures. These increase their motivation to graze, thereby boosting their intake of feed and positively reflecting in their production. The thesis shows that the breeding systems that do not take into account the behavioural needs of sheep cannot maximalise the efficiency of breeding in terms of performance or labour and financial intensiveness. New technologies ensure the animals' comfort while continuously increasing the performance of sheep. Selecting stabling options directed at animal welfare is an important requisite to which any breeder should pay the utmost attention.
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