Jose Fregonesi

• Londrina State University

Cows typically defecate while standing. Freestalls are designed to position standing cows such that their feces fall into the alley. Cows sometimes defecate while lying down, increasing the risk that feces contaminate the stall surface. We conducted 2 studies investigating cow-level and environmental factors associated with defecating while recumbe...

Brazilian consumers and producers’ attitudes towards animal welfare and sustainability are surveyed to help the dairy production sector minimize risks. The research informs the: a) Transition from less welfare conventional models to ones that take into consideration consumer concerns and values, economic interests, opportunity for infrastructure de...

Many dairy cows in the developed world are now housed exclusively indoors with fewer than 5% of the 10 million lactating cows in the United States having access to pasture during the grazing season. Indoor housing systems are designed to meet biological needs for food, water, hygiene, and shelter, but surveys of public and farmer opinion suggest th...

Internationally, consumers want dairy products that are produced ethically, sustainably, endorsed by reputable food safety assurance schemes, and promote cattle health and welfare. This demand challenges regulators and the industry to develop socially and scientifically informed policies and practices that transcend mere support for economic expans...

Freestall housing for dairy cows was created to reduce the amount of bedding and labor needed to keep stalls clean. However, some aspects of stall design may restrict stall usage by cows. The aim of this study was to assess dairy cow preference and usage of a conventional stall (with a neck rail and metal stall dividers) and an alternative stall de...

Factors affecting sampling behavior of cattle are poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to measure the effects of variation in feed quality on the feeding behavior of Holstein dairy heifers. Thirty-two heifers were housed in 4 groups of 8. Each group pen had 8 distinct feeding stations. The total mixed ration (TMR) provided was low e...

The lying behavior of adult cattle is strongly affected by characteristics of the lying surface, but no previous work has assessed the effects of lying surface for dairy calves. We evaluated how the lying behavior of dairy calves changed when calves were provided sawdust-bedded versus concrete lying surfaces, and in response to variation in dryness...

Dairy cows experience challenges during the transition period, which may put them at risk of diseases such as rumen acidosis and laminitis. The traditional recommendations during the transition period is to feed dairy cows on moderate level of concentrates in the pre-partum and switch it to high grain diet just after calving. However, there are som...

Little work to date has assessed how dairy cattle respond when first introduced to freestall housing. In this study we carried out 2 experiments. The aim of experiment 1 was to assess the behavioral responses of naïve heifers to pens fitted with freestalls. Holstein heifers (n=7 groups, each containing 3 heifers, 3 mo of age), with no previous expe...

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Free-stall housing systems are designed to provide a comfortable and hygienic lying area, but some aspects of stall design may restrict usage by cows. The aim of this study was to compare free-stall housing with a comparable lying area (open pack) without stall partitions. We predicted that cows would spend more time lying down and standing in the...

Housing conditions for dairy cows are thought to affect lameness, but almost no experimental work has addressed this link. The aim was to assess the effect of one feature of free-stall design, the position of the neck rail, testing the prediction that cows will be more likely to become lame if using pens with the neck rail positioned such that it p...

This study tested the effect of neck-rail position on stall usage and udder and stall cleanliness. Thirty Holstein lactating cows were tested in groups of 6. Each group was tested with each of 5 neck-rail positions (130, 145, 160, 175, and 190 cm from the rear curb, at a constant height of 125 cm above the bedded surface) for 1 wk, with the order o...

Two preference tests were conducted with 16 lactating dairy cows in which they were allowed to choose between strawyard and cubicle housing systems. The two tests each of 14 days duration examined preferences at high and low space allowances. All cows had previous experience of both systems, but in the week prior to the preference tests, half the a...

The aims of this experiment were to determine the average daily intake (ADI) and the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of rations containing two levels of coastcross hay and ground soybean grain, as well as, to study the behavior of sheep fed on these rations. Ten wethers averaging 40.0 kg of live weight were allocated in feeding trial cages...

Cows prefer to spend more time lying down in free stalls with more bedding, but no research to date has addressed the effects of bedding quality. Bedding in stalls often becomes wet either from exposure to the elements or from feces and urine. The aim of this study was to test the effect of wet bedding on stall preference and use. Four groups of 6...

Our objective was to understand the effect of overstocking on the lying and standing behavior of dairy cattle. We manipulated freestall availability by providing 12, 11, 10, 9, or 8 freestalls to 12 cows (n = 4 groups, 12 cows/group), thus creating stocking levels of 100, 109, 120, 133, and 150%, respectively. Treatments were applied for a week at...

The aims of this experiment were to determine the average daily intake (ADI) and the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of rations containing two levels of coastcross hay and ground soybean grain, as well as, to study the behavior of sheep fed on these rations. Ten wethers averaging 40.0 kg of live weight were allocated in feeding trial cages...

The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of rubber flooring in front of the feed bunk on the immediate behavioral response of dairy cattle. Four groups of 12 dairy cattle were alternately housed in sections of a free-stall barn with either 1.85 m of rubber flooring or grooved concrete in the area in front of the feed bunk. Rubber fl...

Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of two space allowances and two initial milk yield levels on indicators of welfare relating to behaviour, performance and health of dairy cows housed in strawyards (experiment 1), and cubicles (experiment 2). The experiments were carried out with 24 and 32 Holstein Friesian cows, respectively, and...

Dois testes de preferência foram conduzidos em 16 vacas leiteiras em lactação as quais tiveram que escolher entre confinamento com baias (com divisórias na área de repouso) ou sem baias (sem divisórias na área de repouso). Os dois testes, cada um com 14 dias de duração examinaram preferência dos animais em diferentes disponibilidades de espaço. Tod...

Objective methods are required to assess the welfare of livestock in different environments. Two experiments were conducted to determine comparative indicators of welfare in the two most common loose-housing systems for dairy cows, strawyards and cubicles. Experiment I examined the animal responses to the two housing systems with 16 high- and 16 lo...

The objective of this study was to quantify and describe malformations in genital tracts of 403 pregnant and non pregnant grade zebu cows examined macroscopically at post-mortem. The genital tracts were collected in a slaughterhouse located in Roraima. The animals examined presented 4.47% malformations in different portions of the genital tract. In...