Using behavioral indicators and injury scores to assess the effect of stall flooring on cow comfort

Rushen, J.; Passillé, A.M. de; Haley, Derek B.; Manninen, Emmi; Saloniemi, H.

doi:10.13031/2013.7135

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Brscic et al [ 15 ] suggested that beef cattle housed on rubber slatted flooring were more comfortable than those kept on concrete slats, resulting in more time spent standing and eating and, consequently, higher average daily gain in those maintained on rubber flooring. Likewise, dairy cows housed with access to geotextile mattresses and those kept on rubber matted floors spent more time standing while not eating than those maintained on concrete [ 16 ]. Different flooring surfaces may also impact animal gait and ability to move safely and without slipping [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Flooring Substrate Impact Kennel and Dog Cleanliness in Commercial Breeding Facilities?

Stella

Hurt

Bauer

et al. 2018

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Simple SummaryIt is important to understand how the flooring substrate used in dog housing impacts dog health and well-being. Aspects to consider include paw, elbow, and hock health, the cleanliness of the dog, and the ability of the floors to be cleaned easily and thoroughly. This pilot study assessed the health and cleanliness of 118 dogs housed on three different types of flooring commonly found in commercial breeding kennels. No serious paw, elbow, or hock problems were identified. Thirty-one percent or fewer kennels at each facility were found to have fecal contamination after routine cleaning and the majority of dogs were clean. These findings indicate that a well-managed kennel can maintain clean, healthy dogs on different types of flooring substrates.AbstractEvaluation of kennel flooring surfaces is needed to understand their impacts on dog health and well-being. This pilot study aimed to characterize aspects of physical health, kennel cleanliness, and dog body cleanliness on flooring types common in US breeding kennels. Subjects were 118 adult dogs housed on diamond-coated expanded metal (DCEM), polypropylene (POLY), or concrete (CON) flooring at five commercial breeding facilities in Indiana, U.S. Body condition, paw, elbow, and hock health scores were recorded. Each indoor kennel and dog was visually assessed for cleanliness. Kennels were swabbed immediately after cleaning with electrostatic dry cloths and cultured for Escherichia coli. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Mean body condition score (BCS), kennel and dog cleanliness scores were all near ideal (3, 1.15, and 1.04, respectively). Thirty-one percent or fewer kennels at each facility were culture-positive for E. coli after cleaning. No serious paw, elbow, or hock problems were identified. Overall, the findings indicate that with appropriate management and regular access to additional surfaces, dog foot health, cleanliness, and kennel cleanliness can be maintained on the flooring types investigated.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Flooring Substrate Impact Kennel and Dog Cleanliness in Commercial Breeding Facilities?

Stella

Hurt

Bauer

et al. 2018

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a preference test setup, Wander (1974) found that dairy cows preferred the softness of 10 to 15 cm of sawdust in free stalls. Dairy cows have a strong preference for soft bedding materials, such as soft mattresses (Herlin, 1997;Rushen et al, 2001). Furthermore, lying time increases when softer flooring materials are introduced (Rushen et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of soft flooring materials in free stalls with milk yield, clinical mastitis, teat lesions, and removal of dairy cows

Ruud

Bøe

Østerås

2010

Journal of Dairy Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The objective was to test if there was an association between free-stall base softness and milk yield, incidence of clinical mastitis (CM), teat lesions, and removal of cows. In a questionnaire sent to 1,923 dairy farms presumed to be using free-stall housing, farmers were asked for information regarding housing and stall base; for example, the year of installation and the product name or brand of their mats or mattresses. This information was merged with data for milk yield, CM, teat lesions, and removal of cows extracted from the Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System for the years after installation of mats or mattresses. After exclusion of invalid contributions, the data set consisted of 29,326 lactations for milk yield distributed over 363 free-stalled herds in Norway. The farms were stratified into 5 categories according to the softness of the stall surface measured as millimeter impact of a sphere with a diameter of 120 mm at 2-kN load: 1=concrete, softness of 0mm; 2=rubber, softness of 1 to 8mm; 3=soft mats, softness of 9 to 16 mm; 4=multilayer mats, softness of 17 to 24 mm; and 5=mattresses, softness over 24 mm. Lactation curves were estimated as modified Wood's lactation curves using test-day data and mixed models with repeated measurements, adjusting for days in milk, parity, and softness of free-stall flooring. Herds on concrete free-stall bases yielded 6,727+/-146 kg of milk from 5 to 305 days in milk. In comparison, herds showed a decrease of 0.3% on rubber, an increase of 2.4% on soft mats, an increase of 4.5% on multilayer mats, and an increase of 3.9% on mattresses. Compared with concrete, the hazard ratio (HR) of CM was less on rubber, multilayer mats, and mattresses [HR=0.89 (0.79-0.99), 0.85 (0.73-0.996), and 0.80 (0.73-0.88), respectively]. Compared with concrete, the HR of teat lesions was less on rubber, soft mats, multilayer mats, and mattresses [HR=0.41 (0.26-0.65), 0.33 (0.24-0.44), 0.12 (0.04-0.38), and 0.47 (0.33-0.67), respectively]. The HR of removal of cows was less on mattresses compared with concrete, rubber, soft mats, and multilayer mats, with HR=0.90 (0.84-0.97), 0.88 (0.80-0.97), 0.86 (0.80-0.93), and 0.85 (0.76-0.95), respectively. A soft free-stall base contributed significantly to increased milk yield and fewer incidences of CM, teat lesions, and removal of cows.

show abstract

“…Dairy cattle prefer heavily bedded concrete stalls to lightly bedded mats (Jensen et al, 1988;Manninen et al, 2002), and deep-bedded stalls are preferred to stalls with concrete or geotextile mattresses covered with 2 to 3 kg of sawdust (Muller and Botha, 1997;Tucker et al, 2003). Lying times are reduced and standing times in stalls are increased when dairy cattle are housed on concrete surfaces (Haley et al, 2000;O'Connell and Meaney, 1997;Rushen et al, 2001). However, when concrete is covered with bedding, lying times are similar to those seen with soft mats (Wechsler et al, 2000;Manninen et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bedding on Geotextile Mattresses: How Much is Needed to Improve Cow Comfort?

Tucker

Weary

2004

Journal of Dairy Science

133

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The objective of our study was to evaluate how the amount of sawdust bedding on mattresses affects dairy cattle behavior and preferences. Eleven nonlactating, multiparous cows were housed individually in pens with access to 3 free stalls. Each stall was fitted with a geotextile mattress covered with either 0, 1, or 7.5 kg of kiln-dried sawdust. The experiment began with 7 d of acclimatization to all 3 stalls. Cows were then allowed access to only 1 of the 3 stalls at a time, each for 3 d (restriction phase). At the end of this restriction phase, cows were allowed free access to all 3 stalls for 3 d (free-choice phase). Time spent lying and the number of lying bouts increased significantly with the amount of bedding, from 12.3 +/- 0.53 h lying and 8.5 +/- 0.62 bouts per 24 h on bare mattresses to 13.8 +/- 0.53 h lying and 10.0 +/- 0.62 bouts per 24 h on mattresses with 7.5 kg of sawdust. In addition, the animals spent less time standing with only the front hooves in the stalls when more sawdust was present. When allowed free access to all 3 options, all 11 animals spent a majority of their time lying and standing in the 7.5-kg option. In conclusion, cows preferred mattresses bedded with 7.5 kg of sawdust, on which they spent more time lying down and less time standing with only the front hooves in stalls. These results indicate that more sawdust bedding improves cow comfort in stalls with geotextile mattresses.

show abstract

Using behavioral indicators and injury scores to assess the effect of stall flooring on cow comfort

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Does Flooring Substrate Impact Kennel and Dog Cleanliness in Commercial Breeding Facilities?

Does Flooring Substrate Impact Kennel and Dog Cleanliness in Commercial Breeding Facilities?

Associations of soft flooring materials in free stalls with milk yield, clinical mastitis, teat lesions, and removal of dairy cows

Bedding on Geotextile Mattresses: How Much is Needed to Improve Cow Comfort?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About