THE STATE OF DAIRY CATTLE CLEANLINESS IN THE REGION OF KABYLIE, ALGERIA

The aim of our study was to assess the cleanliness of dairy cows in the Kabylie region: Bouira, Béjaia and Tizi-Ouzou, since these three regions being known for their practice of dairy cattle breeding. Thus, 78 farms were visited and a total number of 705 dairy cows were selected (21 farms in Bouira with 210 dairy cows, 29 farms in Béjaia with 180 dairy cows and 28 farms in Tizi-Ouzou with 315 dairy cows). The cleanliness of the cows was assessed by using four point scale 1 (clean), 2 (slightly dirty), 3 (dirty) and 4 (very dirty) and concerns 3 areas: udder, flank/thigh and hind legs. We also evaluated the rate of farms complying with hygiene standards by calculating the ratio of the number of cows with a score of 3+4 to the total number of dairy cows on the farm. Our results showed that the udder area is the cleanest compared to the flank/thigh and hind leg areas. However, the majority of farms in the Kabylie region do not meet the hygiene standards. As cleanliness affects the health and welfare of animals, dairy farmers in the region must take particular care of hygiene on their dairy farms regardless of the livestock farming system.