Cow Comfort Levels and Milk Production of Holstein Cows in Cool and Cold Seasons

Abstract

Cow comfort is a crucial factor for both milk quality and quantity, as well as the health of the animal. This study aimed to determine the variation of comfort indicators and milk production during cool and cold seasons in dairy cows, as there is still a lack of information on the change of comfort parameters during these seasons. A total of 167 Holstein cows raised in a private farm in Samsun province of Türkiye were evaluated by comfort parameters and milk production in the autumn and winter seasons. As hygiene parameters; rear legs hygiene scores (RLHS) and flank hygiene scores (FHS) were noted with a 1 to 4 scale (1= too clean and 4= too dirty). To obtain other parameters, 1 to 5 (1= very weak and 5= very fatty) and 1 to 4 (1= empty and 4= full rumen) scales were used for body condition score (BCS) and rumen fill score (RFS) values, respectively. Test day milk yield (TdMY) values were obtained from the farm records. The study analysed parameters in two seasons (autumn and winter), parity (1 to 3), and stage of lactation (SL; <100 d, 100-199 d and ≥200 d of lactation) groups. To calculate cow comfort level (CL<inf>100</inf>), all comfort parameters were transferred to 100 points. While parity affected FHS (P<0.01) and RLHS (P<0.01), SL only affected RFS (P<0.05). All comfort parameters differed by the seasons and CL<inf>100</inf> was found as higher (P<0.01) in autumn compared to winter value. TdMY was not affected by the season factor. The highest correlation (r=0.706) was found between CL<inf>100</inf> and FHS<inf>100</inf>. The values of CL<inf>100</inf> and TdMY for the herd in both seasons indicate that it is necessary to review the herd management program to improve the welfare and productivity of the evaluated cows. © 2025 by the authors.