Impact of robot scrapers on clinical mastitis and somatic cell count in lactating cows

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to explore the impact of robotic walkway cleaning on clinical mastitis and the somatic cell count in lactating cows. Data collection was carried out on a large dairy farm for two six-month periods in 2012 and 2013. Walkway cleaning with five robot scrapers was performed only in 2013. The incidence of clinical mastitis was analysed using the chi-square test. A linear mixed-effects model was applied for the analysis of the somatic cell count. Results indicated that the proportion of incidences of clinical mastitis decreased between 2012 and 2013 by 2.42 percent points. On the other hand, the somatic cell count of the cows slightly rose between both investigation periods and thus increased the likelihood of intramammary infection. This contrary development between clinical mastitis and somatic cell count also occurred in previous studies in which it was attributed to a pathogen-specific effect owing to farm management. An investigation over a longer period can help to clarify the influence of robot scrapers on udder health in dairy cows.

Feasibility Study: Improving Floor Cleanliness by Using a Robot Scraper in Group-Housed Pregnant Sows and Their Reactions on the New Device

“…Nevertheless, by automating this work it is possible to save valuable working time in larger sow herds. The improvement of environmental hygiene is in fact becoming increasingly important [24] not only in dairy farming, but also in sow management. The farmers described in Ruud and Froknestad were very satisfied with the job by the robot scrapers also with regard to claw health [31].…”

“…Because of the insufficient self-cleaning effect of slatted floors especially in the faeces areas, and to reduce the gas formation process it is necessary to remove the manure at regular intervals [22,23]. To handle this problem, automatic scrapers have been developed that clean the walking alleys at determined frequencies to improve their cleanliness [24]. Scrapers can significantly reduce the amount of manure on the barn floors [25].…”

“…In practical dairy cattle farming, these robot scrapers are already used in many housings. However, there is only few scientific literature on this topic, even in the field of dairy farming [24,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33]. Ruud and Froknestad conducted a survey of dairy farmers (n = 52) who use robot scrapers in their housings.…”