The aim of this study was to provide information on time budget of Italian Mediterranean lactating buffalo. The study was carried out in three loose housed farms with outdoor paddocks. For each farm two sessions of observation were performed at two-week intervals. The observations were performed in the morning starting 1 hour after the administration of a total mixed ration. Avoidance distance at manger was evaluated before starting observations. An herd scan was performed at beginning of observation session in order to detect the number of feeding animals. Subsequently, during a 6-h period the behaviour of focal animals was continuously monitored. After each hour of observation the focal animal was changed, thus six focal animals were observed. The behaviours recorded were posture and activity. The percentage of time spent on each behaviour were calculated for each observation session. Behaviours such as agonistic and social interactions were recorded as number of events. Due to the limited number of recordings no statistical analyses were performed and data were expressed as mean and standard deviation of the two observation sessions. Avoidance distances at manger were 0.47±0.11, 0.26±0.01 and 0.37±0.16 m for farms 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Feeding synchronisation 1 h after feed administration was satisfactory in farm 2 (82.5±9.37 %), whereas it was lower in farms 1 and 3 (55.0±9.9 and 58.4±4.0 %, respectively). Standing was the main posture for farm 1 and 3 (77.2±7.1 and 60.0±5.3 %, respectively), whereas in farm 2 lying down was more frequently expressed (61.1±17.9 %). Buffaloes performed ruminating more often while lying in farms 2 and 3 (41.8±5.8 and 18.6±5.8 % for farms 2 and 3, respectively) than standing (2.1±0.7 and 7.6±6.9 % for farms 2 and 3, respectively), whereas the opposite was found in farm 1 (12.1±17.1 and 25.8±2.4 % for lying and standing, respectively). Agonistic interactions (n of events/animal/hour) were 0.2±0.4, 0.2±0.1 and 0.7±0.5 for farms 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Social interactions were more frequently expressed being 1.3±1.7, 1.8±1.3 and 2.4±1.3 for farms 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The data showed that the animal activities differed among farms as possibly affected by management practices and farm layout.
Time budget and avoidance distance of lactating buffaloes / A., Martucciello; F., Napolitano; E., De Carlo; Grasso, Fernando; M., Spadetta; DE ROSA, Giuseppe. - ELETTRONICO. - (2009), pp. 28-28. (Intervento presentato al convegno 1st Mediterranean Regional Meeting of the International Society for Applied Ethology tenutosi a Cervia, Italy nel 22 May 2009).
Time budget and avoidance distance of lactating buffaloes
GRASSO, FERNANDO;DE ROSA, GIUSEPPE
2009
Abstract
The aim of this study was to provide information on time budget of Italian Mediterranean lactating buffalo. The study was carried out in three loose housed farms with outdoor paddocks. For each farm two sessions of observation were performed at two-week intervals. The observations were performed in the morning starting 1 hour after the administration of a total mixed ration. Avoidance distance at manger was evaluated before starting observations. An herd scan was performed at beginning of observation session in order to detect the number of feeding animals. Subsequently, during a 6-h period the behaviour of focal animals was continuously monitored. After each hour of observation the focal animal was changed, thus six focal animals were observed. The behaviours recorded were posture and activity. The percentage of time spent on each behaviour were calculated for each observation session. Behaviours such as agonistic and social interactions were recorded as number of events. Due to the limited number of recordings no statistical analyses were performed and data were expressed as mean and standard deviation of the two observation sessions. Avoidance distances at manger were 0.47±0.11, 0.26±0.01 and 0.37±0.16 m for farms 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Feeding synchronisation 1 h after feed administration was satisfactory in farm 2 (82.5±9.37 %), whereas it was lower in farms 1 and 3 (55.0±9.9 and 58.4±4.0 %, respectively). Standing was the main posture for farm 1 and 3 (77.2±7.1 and 60.0±5.3 %, respectively), whereas in farm 2 lying down was more frequently expressed (61.1±17.9 %). Buffaloes performed ruminating more often while lying in farms 2 and 3 (41.8±5.8 and 18.6±5.8 % for farms 2 and 3, respectively) than standing (2.1±0.7 and 7.6±6.9 % for farms 2 and 3, respectively), whereas the opposite was found in farm 1 (12.1±17.1 and 25.8±2.4 % for lying and standing, respectively). Agonistic interactions (n of events/animal/hour) were 0.2±0.4, 0.2±0.1 and 0.7±0.5 for farms 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Social interactions were more frequently expressed being 1.3±1.7, 1.8±1.3 and 2.4±1.3 for farms 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The data showed that the animal activities differed among farms as possibly affected by management practices and farm layout.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
