Influencia del sistema de manejo sobre el bienestar animal en una hacienda bovina lechera

Abstract

Livestock production systems pursue to have healthy animals in good body conditions, which demonstrate good management practices because the satisfaction of needs of each species in conditions of animal welfare. The objective of this work was to characterize the animal conditions welfare of dairy cattle in a productive farm, by observation of daily routine and the management-holding system of the herd, in order to assess the comfort status of animals. The study was develop in a dairy cattle farm in the Parroquia Bellavista, Canton Santa Rosa, El Oro Province, at an altitude of 10 meters above sea level and a tropical rainy climate of 22°C as average. The work, non-experimental, observational, longitudinal and descriptive, contemplated the observation of the daily routine of females of the herd of production without altering their rhythm or daily routine of life or discomfort to workers. Three visits to the farm was effect in June 2019 to collect the primary data obtained by interviewing the owner and direct assessment “in situs”. The environment, animal, food, management and tenure, health and infrastructure were the variables evaluated. The indicator evaluation system was based on the Welfare Quality protocol and the Welfare Quality scoring system simulator. The results are present in ethograms, bar diagrams or decision trees and tables with indicators that show the living conditions of animals and how they affect animal welfare. The evaluation criterion were relates the indicators to each of the five conditions of “freedom”. For the integral assessment of animal welfare, the Welfare Quality scoring system simulator was use. The results show that the farm has clean and functional facilities, with non-slip floors, minimum of right angles and steps, animals remain free and not tied, acceptable facilities paddock sleeve system with a good human-animal relationship in a silvopastoril environment evidenced by quiet and friendly females that permit use the criteria of freedom of physical or thermal discomfort and freedom to express their behavior, good food based in forage in paddocks and the administration of silage and mineral salts in the facility which is reflected in the female body condition where 83.87% obtained a score of 3 (Good) according to the Wilmar scale, complying with the principle of hunger, thirst and malnutrition, although the drinkers do not satisfy in quantity and do not show adequate hygienic conditions, an acceptable state of health, affected to some extent, in very few cows, by the presence of indicators of conditions such as ocular and nasal secretions, mild limp problems and low incidence of ticks. It is concluded, based on the simulator of points of Welfare Quality, which the conditions of management, tenure and behavior in the farm are adequate to be valued as good (enhanced) which guarantees the welfare of dairy females.