Preferences of dairy cows for three stall surface materials with small amounts of bedding

Abstract

Farmers' concerns about the economy, cost of labor, and hygiene have resulted in reduced use of organic bedding in stalls for dairy cows; however, the reduced use of organic bedding possibly impairs cow comfort. The effects of different stall surface materials were evaluated in an unheated building in which only a small amount of bedding was used. The lying time and preferences of 18 cows using 3 stall surface materials (concrete, soft rubber mat, and sand) were compared. All materials were lightly bedded with a small amount of straw, and the amount of straw added to each stall was measured. The cows only had access to stalls of one surface type while their lying time was observed. Lying times were longest on the rubber mats compared with other surfaces (rubber mat 768; concrete 727; sand 707+/-16 min/d). In a preference test, cows had access to 2 of the 3 types of stalls for 10 d and their stall preference was measured. Cows preferred stalls with rubber mats to stalls with a concrete floor (median 73 vs. 18 from a total of 160 observations per day; interquartile range was 27 and 12, respectively), but showed no preference for sand stalls compared with stalls with a concrete floor or with rubber mats. More straw was needed on sand stalls compared with concrete or mat (638+/-13 g/d on sand, 468+/-10 g/d on concrete, and 464+/-8 g/d on rubber mats). Lying times on bedded mats indicated that mats were comfortable for the cows. If availability or cost of bedding material requires limiting the amount of bedding used, rubber mats may help maintain cow comfort.

Dairy calves’ preference for rearing substrate

“…However, to date there has been no evidence of these effects in calves. It has been well documented that adult dairy cows prefer to spend more time lying on soft, dry and well-bedded surfaces (Fregonesi, Veira, von Keyserlink, & Weary, 2007;Haley et al, 2001;Norring et al, 2010;Tucker et al, 2009). In the present study, the number of individual calves lying down was affected by the time of day and rearing substrate.…”

“…Sawdust and sand were chosen in preference to a rubber-filled geotextile mattress (Tucker, Weary, & Fraser, 2003) and cows spent more time lying in stalls with greater quantities of substrate (Tucker, Weary, von Keyserlingk, & Beauchemin, 2009 (Tucker et al, 2003). Dairy cows have also been shown to spend more time lying on straw when given the choice between straw and sand in a free stall (Norring, Manninen, de Passillé, Rushen, & Saloniemi, 2010). Adequate rest is also essential for the welfare of young calves (Yanar, Kartal, Aydin, Kocyigit, & Diler, 2010); calves lie down to rest for typically 18 h/d (Panivivat et al, 2004) and a reduction in lying times can influence growth rates (Hänninen et al, 2005).…”

Effects of alternative bedding substrates on lamb welfare, productive performance, and meat quality during the finishing phase of fattening

“…Bedding should be sufficiently comfortable, dry, and soft to ensure that the animals have appropriate resting space and can perform behaviors that guarantee their welfare and productivity (Tuyttens, 2005;Norring et al, 2010). The most traditionally used bedding is cereal straw, which also serves as forage (Teixeira et al, 2012).…”

Avaliação de diferentes materiais para recobrimento de camas em baias de galpão modelo free-stall

“…Do mesmo modo, Norring et al (2010) relatam, comparando camas recobertas com areia, tapetes de borracha e concreto em temperaturas que variavam de -20 a 8 °C dentro da instalação, que o tempo de repouso foi maior nas baias com tapetes de borracha cujos dados podem indicar que em locais de temperaturas baixas o material composto por borracha pode ser mais confortável aos animais. Em experimento realizado no Canadá, Rushen et al (2007) observaram que as vacas tendem a descansar mais em tapete de borracha do que em baias com a base de concreto com adição de 0,5 kg de palha por baia, em instalações tipo tie-stall.…”