Relación de la variabilidad lipídica de la leche con los indicadores ambientales de bienestar animal

Abstract

The role of fat varies depending on feed, and breed, being the second major component of milk, however, its composition also depends on other factors. Variables related to environmental welfare were evaluated four times in 150 dairy herds in the eastern valleys of Azuay and Cañar to correlate them with the lipid variability of milk whose average was 3.81% (+0.41). The environmental domain tries to promote the comfort of production animals, with areas that promote thermal, physical, and physiological comfort. This requires the design and technical management of the farms. In this study, the variables promoting environmental wellbeing were: management of a mastitis diagnosis plan, use of antibiotics, vaccination plan, deworming, type and time of milking, distance to milking, quality of the route, physical and thermal comfort of the floor, cleanliness of the animals and access to shade or shelter. For the analysis, the associativity was evaluated with the Chi test and Spearman´s Correlation Coefficient (P<0.05). The variable that had the highest associativity (P=0.036) with lipid variability was the distance to milking and this had medium and high correlations with the existence of sanitary plans and comfort. It was concluded that there is a relationship (r2), between the environmental indicators of animal welfare, travel distance, and the variability of the lipid fraction of the animals, which allows relating the quality of the milk with the way it is produced. Keywords: livestock, farms, comfort, health, management, environmental, domain