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Welfare evaluation of dairy cows reared in the East of Algeria

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the welfare status of dairy cows raised in local conditions through health criteria. Important health problems have been identified as well as their effect on the milk yield. One hundred seven farms in eastern Algeria were visited. Data on health, productivity, and management practices were collected. Clinical examination of 1210 dairy cows was conducted to assess health scores. The relationship between herd health and milk yield was investigated using multiple linear regression models. The average milk yield per cow was 16.1 kg/day, and the average prevalence of thin cows (body condition score ≤ 2) was 35.1%. The cow dirtiness was a sign of poor facility hygiene, with 24.3% of cows had dirty udders, 44.5% had dirty flanks/upper legs, and 59.6% had dirty hind legs. The mean prevalence of clinical lameness (locomotion score ≥ 3) and severe lameness (locomotion score ≥ 4) were 24.7% and 8.7%, respectively. The prevalence of hocks, knees, and neck injuries (score > 1) with wound and/or swelling ranged from 0 to 46.2%, 0 to 71.4%, and 0 to 14.3%, respectively. The clinical examination showed a percentage of cows with mastitis of 15.4%, diarrhea of 6.9%, cough of 3.2%, nasal discharge of 7.5%, and ocular discharge of 1.8%. Thus, the milk yield had associated with severe lameness, mastitis, thinness, and dystocia. In conclusion, the welfare indicators in this study reflect the serious health problems in dairy farming which influence the expression of the cow genetic potential.

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Data availability

The datasets generated are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the veterinary practitioners and the farmers for their indispensable collaboration as well as The Directorate-General for Scientific Research and Technological Development (DGRSDT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Epidemio-Surveillance, Production and Reproduction, Health, Cellular Experimentation and Therapy of Domestic and Wild Animals, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Chadli Bendjedid University, PO Box 73, 36000, El-Tarf, Algeria

    Ahmed Abdelouahed Kechroud, Latifa Merdaci & Leila Aoun

  2. Laboratory of Animal Production, Biotechnology and Health, Institute of Agronomic and Veterinary Sciences, Mohamed Cherif Messaadia University, BP 41000, Souk-Ahras, Algeria

    Djalel Eddine Gherissi

  3. Veterinary Sciences Institute, Saad Dahleb University, 1,B.P. 270, Route de Soumâa, 09000, Blida, Algeria

    Dahia Saidj

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  1. Ahmed Abdelouahed Kechroud
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  4. Djalel Eddine Gherissi
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Contributions

AAK and LM contributed to the study conception and design. AAK collected and analyzed data and prepared initial draft of manuscript. LA, DS, and DEG reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ahmed Abdelouahed Kechroud.

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Kechroud, A.A., Merdaci, L., Aoun, L. et al. Welfare evaluation of dairy cows reared in the East of Algeria. Trop Anim Health Prod 56, 32 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03872-1

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