Untersuchung des Ausscheidungsverhaltens von Rindern bei unterschiedlicher Tränkeanordnung im Stall und im Auslauf

The eliminative behavior of cattle is very important for the cleanliness of floors and ammonia emission rates in buildings. In this study we tried to control eliminative behavior of heifers by setting up different waterer locations in the barn. The waterers were placed inside the barn close to the feeding area and outside the building in the outdoor run. Two groups of heifers were used in a cross-over design in those setups. The behavior was video recorded three consecutive days per group. From our results it can be concluded, that the waterer location does not influence eliminative behavior of the heifers. The spatial distribution of the eliminations in the barn was not affected by the change of the waterer location. The rate of eliminations per animal per day remained constant for the different waterer positions.