The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the access to pasture affects the stereotypic behavior of Jersey cows kept in loose housing systems. Therefore, a total of 21 randomly selected Jersey cows housed in two different investigation farms were observed once a week for four weeks in winter and summer, respectively, using the focal sampling method. On every examination day, each cow was observed for 15 min and the amount (AP) and length (LP) of periods, in which the cows showed stereotypic behavior within this observation time, were counted. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were carried out to estimate differences between pasture access and no pasture access regarding AP and LP. Welch two sample t-tests were performed to detect differences in AP and LP between both investigation farms. The results of the study show significant differences between the option of pasture access and no pasture access regarding the values of AP and LP. The values of AP (p = 0.001) as well as the values of LP (p = 0.006) were lower when the cows had access to the pasture. No differences could be found between the investigation farms. It could be concluded that the access to pasture has a significant influence on the stereotypic behavior of Jersey cows. Further studies are needed to intensively analyze the causes of stereotypic behavior in Jersey cows.

An increasing number of automation technologies for dairy cattle farming, including automatic milking, feeding, manure removal and bedding, are now commercially available. The effects of these technologies on individual aspects of animal welfare have already been explored to some extent. However, as of now, there are no studies that analyze the impact of increasing farm automation through various combinations of these technologies. The objective of this study was to examine potential correlations between welfare indicators from the Welfare Quality^® Assessment protocol and dairy farms with varying degrees of automation. To achieve this, 32 trial farms in Northern and Central Germany were categorized into varying automation levels using a newly developed classification system. The Welfare Quality^® Assessment protocol was used to conduct welfare assessments on all participating farms. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), overall welfare scores and individual measures from the protocol were compared across farms with differing automation levels. No significant differences were observed in overall welfare scores, suggesting that the impact of automation does not exceed other farm-related factors influencing animal wellbeing, such as housing environment or management methods. However, significant effects of milking, feeding, and bedding systems on the appropriate behavior of cattle were observed. Higher levels of automation had a positive impact on the human–animal relationship and led to positive emotional states. Moreover, farms with higher automation levels had significantly lower scores for the prevalence of severe lameness and dirtiness of lower legs. It could be concluded that a higher degree of automation could help to improve animal welfare on dairy farms.

Prevention of damage to the teat and mastitis requires determination of the teat load caused by a collapsing liner. The aim of this study was to test a pressure-indicating film designed to measure the pressure between a collapsing liner and artificial teats. The Ultra Super Low and the Extreme Low pressure-indicating films were tested on two types of artificial teat. The experiments were performed with a conventional milking cluster equipped with round silicone liners. For each teat and film type, 30 repetitions were performed. Each repetition was performed with a new piece of film. Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed to detect differences between the pressure values for the different teats. The area of regions where pressure-indication color developed was calculated to determine the most suitable film type. Both film types measured the pressure applied to both artificial teats by the teat cup liner. Thus, the pressure-indicating films can be used to measure the pressure between a collapsing liner and an artificial teat. Based on the results of the present investigation, a pressure-indicating film with the measurement ranges of both film types combined would be an optimal tool to measure the overall pressure between an artificial teat and a collapsing liner.

Owing to political and societal requirements, farmers are required to produce animal-friendly and sustainable products in an economic manner. Investments have been made to improve housing conditions for farm animals such as cattle, but further improvements regarding animal welfare of dairy husbandry are needed to regain societal acceptance. In this review, we first provide a brief overview of current housing and management conditions of dairy cattle worldwide as well as their impact on animal welfare of calves, young stock, and dairy cows. This framework was the basis to develop a concept for an alternative demonstration and research barn, the "future dairy barn" (FDB). Crucial for this barn concept was the consideration of the natural behavior of all cattle belonging to a herd to improve animal welfare. Consequently, the FDB concept integrated a family herd that avoids regrouping and enables stable social relationships, a free lying area to allow species-typical lying behavior and pasture or paddock access to enable the cattle to stay indoors or outdoors. This alternative dairy barn concept should help answer research questions on animal welfare in a uniform social and physical environment in long-term investigations. The construction of the FDB aims to support the future of dairy farming.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the severity of hyperkeratosis (HK) in the teats of dairy cows can be assessed by a dielectric measurement. The study focused on surveying the occurrence of hyperkeratosis in a total of 241 teats of lactating dairy cows. A scoring system consisting of four categories was used to macroscopically assess the severity of HK. Additionally, the dielectric constant (DC) of all teats with milkability was measured in a double iteration with the MoistureMeterD (Delfin Technologies, Kuopio, Finland) on four different days. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient revealed a negative correlation between the DC and HK score (rs = −0.55 to −0.36). The results of the regression analysis showed that the DC values differed significantly between healthy teat ends (≤2) and teat ends with HK (≥3). Thus, the non-invasive measurement of DC provides a promising method of objectively assessing the occurrence and severity of HK.