A comparison of indoor and outdoor calf housing systems using automated and manual feeding methods and their effect on calf health,behavior, growth,and labor

Housing and feeding are integral to calf rearing, and must meet calf needs while remaining functional for the farmer. This study compared health, behavior, growth, and labor requirements of calves housed in groups indoors and fed via an automatic or manual milk feeding system compared to calves manually fed in individual or group hutches outdoors. Seventy-six (49 Holstein Friesian [HF] and 27 HF × Jersey) dairy heifer calves were balanced for birth weight (35.2 ± 4.95 kg), birth date (1 February ± 7.2 d) and breed. The experiment was a randomized block design with four treatments; 1) indoor group housing with automated feeding (IN_AUTO; 12 calves per pen), 2) indoor group housing with manual feeding (IN_MAN; 12 calves per pen), 3) outdoor group hutch with manual feeding (OUT_G_MAN; 8 calves per pen), and 4) outdoor individual hutch with manual feeding (OUT_I_MAN; 6 calves: 1 per pen). Calves in OUT_treatments moved outdoors at 18 d (± 5.9 d). Each treatment was replicated once. Milk allowance increased gradually from 6 to 8 L/day (15% reconstitution rate) with ad libitum fresh water, concentrates, and hay offered from 3 d old. Gradual weaning occurred at 8 wk old. Measurements were divided into period 1; before movement outdoors, and period 2; after movement outdoors. Health was similar among treatments, regardless of period, with the most frequent score being zero (i.e., healthy). Summarized, standing and lying were observed 24.3% and 29.8%, respectively, in OUT_I_MAN calves, compared to 8.0% and 49.1%, for the other systems, which were similar. No difference in bodyweight (BW) existed between treatments, except at weaning where BW was lower for OUT_I_MAN (67.4 ± 2.84 kg) compared to IN_MAN (74.2 ± 2.01 kg), and day 102 where OUT_I_MAN (94.1 ± 2.85 kg) were lighter than IN_AUTO (101.1 ± 2.10 kg) (P = 0.047). Total labor input was greatest for OUT_I_MAN (00:02:02 per calf per day; hh:mm:ss) and least for IN_AUTO (00:00:21 per calf per day) (P < 0.001). The labor for feeding (00:00:29 per calf per day), feeding inspection (00:00:10 per calf per day), and cleaning equipment (00:00:30 per calf per day) was greatest for OUT_I_MAN. All calves showed good health and growth patterns. Differences in behavior expressed by calves in the OUT_I_MAN, compared to other treatments may indicate compromised welfare. Thus, although outdoor group hutches do not negatively impact calves, indoor housing, particularly using automated feeders, can improve labor efficiency.     

高尔夫旅游者的环境态度和环境行为意向：专业化水平的调节作用

高尔夫旅游提供的产品和服务依赖于自然环境,因此可持续性环境管理的重要性日益凸显。本研究以高尔夫旅游者作为研究对象,通过潜在结构和内部一致性分析,运用专业化的概念,将高尔夫旅游者划分为初级、中级和高级3类,并进一步检验不同专业化水平的高尔夫旅游者的环境态度和环境行为意向之间的关系。研究发现:1)高级高尔夫旅游者的环境态度和环境行为意向得分高于初级和中级高尔夫旅游者;2)因果分析证实了环境态度和行为意向之间的关系,且这两个构念之间的关系在不同专业化水平的样本中均得到了检验;3)高尔夫旅游者的专业化水平对环境态度和行为意向并未起到调节作用。