Defaecation behaviour of dairy cows housed in straw yards or cubicle systems

Cattle are traditionally thought to show little or no faeces avoidance behaviour. Management practices that prevent contact between housed cattle and their faeces are often restrictive in nature and can affect other unrelated behavioural patterns. This study looked at the range of sequences of behaviour performed by dairy cows at the time of elimination and whether these sequences might indicate faeces avoidance. Defaecation behaviour of cows housed in straw yards (n = 145) and cubicles (n = 178) was compared to assess the effects of housing design. Combinations of walking (W), standing (S) and lying (L) were recorded as pre-, during and post-eliminative behaviours. If the post-eliminative behaviour was maintained for 10 s or less, the subsequent behaviour was also noted. A total of 35 sequences was recorded and these were classified as showing (a) no faeces avoidance, (b) incidental faeces avoidance, or (c) intentional faeces avoidance. Cows housed in cubicles showed the 'no avoidance of faeces' sequences significantly more than did cows housed in straw yards (P < 0.001). Conversely, cows in straw yards showed a significantly greater level of both incidental and intentional faeces avoidance (P < 0.001 and 0.001, respectively). The results of this study indicate that in the majority of instances the cows did avoid bodily contact with freshly deposited faeces through avoidance behaviour. The increased level of non-avoidance of faeces displayed by cows housed in cubicles indicated that housing design might have had a negative impact on the expression of eliminate-avoidance behaviour.