Management and Infrastructure Considerations and their Impact on Cow Behaviour and Welfare in a Pasture-Based Automatic Milking System

When automatic milking systems (AMS) were introduced to the dairy industry, the well-being of cows was investigated to ensure it was comparable to conventional milking systems (CMS). Chapter 2 found the well-being of cows was similar between AMS and CMS, and is seemingly more dependent on good management than on milking system type. The review also highlights unknown differences in the human-animal relationship between milking system types. Observation of five commercial dairy farms transitioning from CMS to AMS (Chapter 3) identified that after transitioning, farm staff interacted less with cows, and the cows had a reduced fear response towards humans. Other aspects investigated that impact on cow well-being, was the impact of hot weather on cow performance in pasture-based AMSs (Chapter 4). A high temperature humidity index was associated with reductions in milking frequency and milk yield (MY) of cows in pasture-based AMSs. To encourage milkings without increasing heat load, fetching cows at night was observed in Chapter 5. Cows successfully travelled voluntarily through the milking facility after being fetched off a pasture allocation onto the laneway at night, reducing average milking interval and risk of undesirably long milking intervals. To improve daytime milking visitation during hot weather, Chapter 6 investigated the use of intermittent shade structures along a laneway. This encouraged cows to voluntarily travel further towards the milking facility, reducing their respiratory rate and body temperature. Further use of shade in the pre-milking area at the milking facility increased pre-milking waiting time, reduced cow respiratory rate, improved MY (Chapter 7), reduced cow body temperature and increased rumination time (Chapter 8). The results of this thesis suggest that changes in management and infrastructure can have positive effects on both cow performance and well-being in an AMS