Table 1.

The effect of indoor housing systems and stocking density on species-specific natural behaviors and welfare indices of lactating buffalo

Studied parameters	Intensive system	Semi-intensive system	Extensive system	References
Allowed space	Barn with a concrete floor and 10 m2/head	Barn with a concrete floor and 10 m2/head + outdoor yard (36 m2/head) + free access to pool	Open-sided barn + outdoor yard 500 m2/head + free access to pool
Standing	No difference	No difference	–	De Rosa et al. (2009)
Time for walking	↓	–	–	(Cavallina et al. 2008)
Idling	↑	↓	↓	Tripaldi et al. (2004), De Rosa et al. (2009)
Grooming activities	↓	–	↑	Tripaldi et al. (2004)
Investigative activities	↓	↑	–	De Rosa et al. (2009)
Restless during handling	↑	–	↓	Tripaldi et al. (2004)
Licking social	↓	↑	–	De Rosa et al. (2009)
Sniffing and nuzzling	↓	↑	–	De Rosa et al. (2009)
Aggression social	↓	↑		De Rosa et al. (2009)
Scores for cleanliness	↓	–	↑	De la Cruz-Cruz et al. (2014)
Grazing and bathing activities	–	–	↑	Tripaldi et al. (2004), Napolitano et al. (2013)
Wallowing	–	–	↑	Tripaldi et al. (2004)
Location in the sun	↓	–	↑	Tripaldi et al. (2004)

↑ = increase, ↓ = decrease

Age of lactating buffalo: ≥ 2 years. Live body weight: ranged from 610 to 667.5 kg

Conclusively, allowing larger floor space for milking buffalo would help them to express their species-specific natural behaviors and may avoid crowding stress influences. Moreover, it is necessary to enrich the knowledge about the effects of SD on the buffalos' behavior during the fattening period, which will assist in determining the optimal allowed space for increasing the meat yield of buffalo