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Cow Comfort Issues in Freestall Barns image

“Previous work by Fulwider and Palmer, 2003, indicated that cows lie down as much time in well designed mattress stalls as in sand stalls, but spend more time standing in mattresses based stalls. Cook et al., 2004a found the same to be true (Table 9). Different reasons have been proposed to explain these phenomena. In the fall of 2003 rubber alley mats (RAM) were installed over all alleys in the same pen as stall preference studies had been conducted earlier. Table 11 shows the effect of rubber alley mats on stall use (Fulwider and Palmer, 2003). Stall use was recorded for 31 days before the RAM‟s were installed. A three week acclimation period was given to allow cows to adjust ...

Dairy cow comfort: Cow behaviour to judge free-stall and tie-stall barns image

In comfortable stalls, cows lie for 60% of the day and seldom perch or stand idly. The ideal stall has open forward space for normal rising and lying motions. It has no hazards that cause injury, pain or frustration. In addition, it provides space for all normal resting positions and allows cows to stand and lie straight. Cow and stall cleanliness are common in comfortable stalls. Cows should adapt easily, have ready access to feed, water and shade, and avoid injury in well- designed dairy housing. This document describes cow behaviour to look for when judging cow comfort in free-stall and tie-stall barns. The behaviours provide practical tests (indicators) of a housing system. Full article Industry Knowledge

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