Winter housing conditions of cows of the Hérens breed do not influence fighting but modulate spacing behaviour on alpine pastures

Cows of the Hérens breed are typically kept in small herds and three types of winter housing conditions feature in practical application: tie-barns with minimal winter outdoor exercise, this being taken singly or in pairs (“minimal exercise”), tie-barns with daily exercise as a complete herd (“herd exercise”), and loose housing (“loose housing”). During the summer grazing period, cows from different farms are grouped into bigger herds on alpine pastures. In this study we investigated whether winter housing conditions have an effect on the fighting and spacing behaviour of the cows at the beginning of the alpine pasture period.