Comparaison du comportement de repos des Taurillons de races pie-noire et blanc-bleu belge en stabulation entravée

Standing and lying bouts of ten fattening bulls were recorded continuously during two one week trials. There were five Friesian bulls and five double-muscled bulls from the Belgian White-Blue breed. At the start of trial 1, the Friesian and Belgian White-Blue bulls averaged 441,4 and 523,4 kg respectively. Trial 2 started thirty days later and the animals averaged 479,4 and 552 kg.

The bulls were tied up in a stanchion barn. The front part of the stall floor was covered by a rubber mat (0,9 m length). The back part was a metal grid. Standing up and lying down were recorded by an electrical device.

The mean lying time per 24 h of the Friesian bulls was 14,86h ; the corresponding value for the Belgian White-Blue bulls was 16,25h. Differences between breeds and trials were not significant.

The mean numbers of lying bouts per 24 h were 11,14 and 13,60 respectively for the Friesian bulls and the double-muscled animals. Differences between breeds and trials were not significant.

The distribution of the lying and the standing bouts according to their length was different between breeds lor both trials. The percentage of lying and standing bouts of long duration were higher for the Friesians than for the double-muscled animals.

The Friesian bulls stood mainly during three periods : 8-11 h, 16-18 h and 20-22 h in which they were standing 77,5, 72,8 and 64,8 % of the time. The same tendency was observed with the Belgian White-Blue bulls excepted for the third period.