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Influence of various systems on housing and breeding of dairy cattle
DUBOVÁ, Dagmar
The trend in development of new technologies and machinery in the area of agriculture and animal husbandry shows an increasing number of robotized operations. Such trend mostly appears in dairy cattle breeding, which has its logical explanation due to the fact that high ratio of human labour in milk production is more than obvious. The basic prerequisite for a successful utilization of milking robotic systems is to provide dairy cattle with sufficient quantity of top quality food and water as well as to ensure their welfare. The aim of the bachelor?s work was to compare the influence of both stanchion housing using a milking pipeline method and loose housing with robotic milking system on basic categories of dairy cattle behaviour, milk efficiency and reproduction. The observation itself was executed in each housing system for the period of 24 hours, during which an interval method with a ten-minute interval mode was used. Basic life activity of dairy cattle such as: feed intake, standing, lying and movement were monitored. All data were collected and assessed under running conditions on a private dairy farm owned by Václav Dub in Boubín near Horažďovice. The task was carried out in a reconstructed housing, where both systems are in operation. During the day, the dairy cattle remained mostly in a lying position, from which 50,33 % were kept in stanchion housing and 49,54 % in loose housing. When being housed in a standing position, 23,78 % of the dairy cattle paid attention to feeding and 27,05 % of dairy cattle were robotically milked. Standing position represented 25,89 % in stanchion housing and 19,31 % in loose housing. The movement was only monitored with dairy cattle housed in free housing representing 4,1 %. After the milk efficiency was assessed, there were some statistically significant differences (P?0,001) found in milked milk as well as in a kilogram of protein. With respect to reproduction, the length of the insemination interval was recorded showing 129 days when being stanchion housed and 95 days when loose housed. The length of the service period of dairy cattle in stanchion housing was 144 days while dairy cattle milked robotically showed the length of 109 days. All in all, it was proved that a free movement has a positive influence on the milk efficiency, fertility as well as the welfare of dairy cattle.
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