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We used spontaneous behaviours to assess response to dry-off involving abrupt dietary and milking frequency changes, followed by regrouping, after the last milking in 15 clinically healthy Holstein-Frisian cows kept outdoors. Moreover, we explored the potential of infrared thermography to detect eye temperature variations possibly induced by dry-off. On days - 1, 0, 1 and 2 relative to dry-off, we recorded whether cows vocalised during feed delivery; ate fresh feed within 5 min; and mean maximum eye temperature at approximately 1 h after feed delivery. On days 1 and 2, cows were more likely to eat fresh feed compared to days - 1 and 0. No difference in likelihood of vocalising was found. Compared to day - 1, eye temperature was substantially higher on days 0 and 2. Collectively, the results suggest that cows responded, both behaviourally and physiologically, to the abrupt dry-off management. The interpretation of the current findings deserves further investigation using larger sample sizes, more controlled environments and further behavioural, physiological, cognitive and clinical measures.

Infrared thermography is a tool to investigate the welfare of cattle. This study aimed to identify a sampling strategy for recording infrared thermograms in dairy cows, in order to most efficiently determine biologically relevant changes in the maximum infrared temperature (IRT) of the eyes and coronary band of forelimbs. Thirty-one dairy cows were used for the study. They were assessed with four replicates of thermograms for each of the head and lower forelimb per cow for 6 mostly consecutive days (sessions). The data obtained were subjected to random effects Analysis of Variance which was used to estimate the variance components for this sampling model, using maximum IRT of both eyes; (left + right eye)/2 and both limbs; (left + right coronary band of forelimb)/2 as dependant variables. The variance components were used to calculate least significant differences (LSD) between two theoretical treatment groups under different sampling scenarios. Analysis showed that there was minimal improvement in precision beyond 2 thermograms within a session but there was improvement with increasing the number of sessions from 2 to 3. The LSD of both eyes and both limbs reached a biologically relevant difference (0.4 and 0.9 °C, respectively) at a minimum number of 14 - 16 cows monitored for 2 consecutive thermography sessions, or 10 - 12 cows for 3 sessions. We conclude that no more than 2 replicate IRT measures are required per session but that measuring on 3 consecutive days should be considered, depending on whether time or number of cows used is the primary limitation.

The emotions of cows could be reflected in their body temperature, productivity and behaviours. We tested whether there is a positive correlation between non-invasive infrared temperature (IRT) and right-side laterality (presumed to indicate anxiety), and negative correlation with milk production in a large group of randomly selected cows. Lactating cows (n = 171) were examined individually in 3 consecutive one-month periods. Each month maximum infrared temperatures of the head and coronary bands of forelimbs were recorded daily for 6 days and lateralisation was determined from ten daily forced lateralisation tests. In the first month right-lateralised cows had higher IRT in their eyes than left-lateralised cows. The absence of an association between IRT and laterality in periods 2 and 3 suggests habituation to the test conditions. Right lateralised cows waited for longer before milking than left lateralised cows, and limb IRTs were negatively related to the waiting time before milking. We conclude that the connection between lateralised behaviour and eye IRT in this study provides evidence of differences in cows' emotional response to the forced lateralisation test. • Non-invasive infrared temperature (IRT) of cows appeared to be related to emotions. • Cows with apparently negative emotions had greater eye IRT temperature. • Higher IRT of eyes was also linked to poor milk quality. • IRT only related to emotional responses in the first month.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Our study aimed to confirm that the probiotic, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain H57 (H57), manufactured into grain-rich stockfeed pellets, would help maintain the various types of odours of the pellets during an extended storage. Pellets treated with (H57) or without (control, C) were stored either at room temperature or at 5 °C over 3 months. The odours were identified in the pellets, stored at 0, 1, 2 and 3 months, by a gas analysis technique. The change of odour types was greatest in the C pellets stored for 3 months at room temperature (CA3) than all other pellet treatments. The odour types of the H57 pellets aged 2 or 3 months at room temperature were similar to that of C pellets aged 1 or 2 months. Nine odour types of microbial origin were related to the change observed in CA3. These odour types have been previously identified in grains spoiled by mould and thus deserve further evaluation as indicators of the types of mould against which H57 protects as a feed inoculum. These results suggest that H57 can help to maintain the odour of stockfeed pellets, by reducing the rate of microbial spoilage during storage. Mould and bacterial contamination releases microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs), causing changes in the odour profile of a feed. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain H57 (H57) has the potential ability to inhibit microbial growth in animal feeds. This study tested the hypothesis that H57 influences the odour profile of stored feedlot pellets by impeding the production of mVOCs. The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of un-inoculated pellets and those inoculated with H57, stored either at ambient temperature (mean 22 °C) or at 5 °C, was monitored at 0, 1, 2, and 3 months by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Forty VOCs were identified in all the pellet samples analysed, 24 of which were potentially of microbial and 16 of non-microbial origin. A score plot of the principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the VOC profiles of the pellets stored at ambient temperature changed more rapidly over the 3 months than those stored at 5 °C, and that change was greater in the un-inoculated pellets when compared to the inoculated ones. The bi-plot and correlation loading plots of the PCA indicated that the separation of the un-inoculated pellets from the other treatments over the 3 months was primarily due to nine mVOCs. These mVOCs have been previously identified in grains spoiled by fungi, and could be considered potential markers of the types of fungi that H57 can protect pellets against. These data indicate the ability of H57 to maintain the odour profile and freshness of concentrated feed pellets. This protective influence can be detected as early as 3 months into ambient temperature storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Infrared temperature (IRT) of eyes and coronary band associate with cow emotions. • Cows with lower limb IRT walked slower in a forced lateralisation test. • Cows with a higher eye to limb IRT ratio had a more vertical tail position. • Temperature humidity index, milk protein to fat and days in milk may confound IRT. The welfare of dairy cows is sometimes compromised by anxiety that could be indicated by changes in body temperature. We hypothesized that there was an association between external body surface infrared temperature (IRT) of lactating cows and behavioural responses to anxiety, using rectal temperature as a reference point. Approximately 50 cows were examined individually once a month for 3 consecutive months. Cows were excluded from the evaluation if > 300 d in milk, somatic cell counts exceeded 400 × 1000′s cells/mL, or if dried-off, and so numbers declined over time. Monthly IRT thermograms of each cow's head and coronary bands of forelimbs were taken, and we collected data deemed indicative of anxiety (behaviour in a forced lateralisation test, behaviour in the crush, flight speed and rectal temperature) as well as potential confounders: temperature humidity index (THI) in the parlour and crush area and lactation variables. The hypothesized positive association between IRT and behavioural indicators of anxiety was found in the first month only, between IRT of both eyes and cows' sniffing behaviour in the forced lateralisation test. Associations between rectal temperature and behavioural indicators occurred in month 3, when rectal temperature was positively associated with both flight speed and crush score. Cow waiting time prior to being milked was negatively associated with limb IRT in each of the 3 months, and positively associated with the ratio of eyes to limb IRT in 2 of the 3 months, whereas no such associations were detected with rectal temperature. In the analysis across months there were associations between IRT and behavioural indicators, which suggested that limb IRT may relate to cow behaviour: limb IRT was negatively related to slow to medium walking, and the ratio of IRT of eyes to limbs was positively associated with a vertical, rather than horizontal, tail. No associations were detected between laterality and IRT or rectal temperature. The adjusted R2 of the regressions across months was higher for IRT (eyes 86 %; limbs 78 %) than rectal temperature (63 %). IRT had a high repeatability, particularly for both eyes, across the 3 months, whereas rectal temperature was not repeatable. We conclude that there are potential relationships between IRT and cow emotions, but it is important to account for confounders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]