Bem-estar em instalações para vacas leiteiras

Abstract

Milk is a food of great nutritional importance. In Brazil, it is among the most important agricultural products. With the increasing temperature rise due to climate change, countries like Brazil face and will face, if nothing changes, problems related to the wellbeing and thermal comfort of animals in their dairy production. When welfare is affected, the animal stays away from its group, does not move well and does not feed properly, among other cases, causing the animal to become sick. In a situation of stress due to temperature, production and development are directly reduced, leading the farmer to incur losses. Livestock confinement systems become an alternative to keep milk production constant throughout the year. These systems are increasingly being used to provide maximum comfort to animals. Free stall and compost barn emerge as technologies adopted in a confinement system for dairy cows, being able to minimize the effects caused by thermal stress. These are systems that allow animals to behave more freely, in order to maintain their well-being.