Factores de bienestar animal y su efecto en la producción lechera en una finca ganadera de la provincia el oro

Abstract

In livestock production farms, management systems focused on purposes such as meat, milk or both are distinguished, regardless of the purpose of production, the animals must be subjected to a management that guarantees the minimum conditions of animal welfare. The objective of this work is to qualify the animal welfare conditions of dairy cows in a cattle ranch, through the observation of the daily routine and the management-tenure system of the herd, for the estimation of the state of comfort of the animals. The study of the present work was developed in the dairy production unit of the Santa Inés Farm, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences - UTMACH, located at Km 5 ½ via Machala-Pasaje, El Cambio parish, Machala Canton, El Oro Province, at a height of 6 meters above sea level, with an average annual temperature of 25°C, average relative humidity of 84% and average annual rainfall of 699 mm. The study was observational, not experimental, with a descriptive and longitudinal nature, consisting of direct observation "in situ" of the daily routine of the dairy herd, without altering the management conditions of the herd or of the workers, these visits were made in the In the month of January 2022, the observed data were collected in previously prepared forms for both the interview with the manager and the observations of the cattle. The data was tabulated in Microsoft Excel, based on the variables to be considered according to the Welfare Quality protocol, and they are: environment, animal, food, management-tenure, health and infrastructure; the results provided in ethograms and flow charts were entered into the Welfare Quality scoring system simulator. The results indicated that the grazing conditions are favorable since a regenerative rotational silvopastoral system is applied, thereby providing thermal comfort, and friendly from an ecological point of view; the feeding that is based on forages in Tanner (Brachiaria arrecta) paddocks in combination with banana, banana rachis, corn pangasius and molasses in the stable, an average rating was obtained, that is, they are neither good nor bad, reflecting in the body condition whose highest percentage was 63.4% for a condition of 3 (good) followed by 33.3% for a CC of 2 (weak), taking into account that within the cattle herd there are crosses whose genetics are not adapted to hot weather; On the other hand, there are the drinking fountains where there is only one point in the stable and one mobile in the paddock, of which the first was dirty and the mobile was clean, attributing that it was cleaned every time it was going to change places. In the health variable, regardless of the BC of the animals, no greater presence of diseases was obtained since one cow had a slight lameness; two cows, nasal secretions and one, skin problems, representing 3.3%, 6.7% and 3.3% respectively. With regard to the management variable, for the herding to the paddocks the workers went at the pace of the cows, however, to enter the waiting and milking room, shouts and hoses were used, so the rating in this parameter it was low compared to the other variables. The facilities in which the animals were kept were in good condition, with non-slip floors in the waiting room and milking room, with a minimum number of right angles, and had enough space for the females to develop their behavior of rumination, rest and create links between them. In general, the entire herd presents a docility of 100%, indicating that there are no factors of fear or aggression that affect them. It is concluded, based on the results of the Welfare Quality Scoring Simulator, based on the principles of good nutrition, possession, health and conduct, it is valued that the welfare conditions are good (enhanced), which indicates that it is guaranteed the welfare of dairy females.