Freestall Maintenance: Effects on Lying Behavior of Dairy Cattle

In a series of 3 experiments, we documented how sand-bedding depth and distribution changed within freestalls after new bedding was added and the effect of these changes on lying behavior. In experiment 1, we measured changes in bedding depth over a 10-d period at 43 points in 24 freestalls. Change...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dairy science 2005-07, Vol.88 (7), p.2381-2387
Main Authors: Drissler, M, Gaworski, M, Tucker, C. B, Weary, D. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
animal comfort
Animal productions
Animals
Bedding and Linens - veterinary
behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Cattle - physiology
cow comfort
dairy cows
depth
Female
Food industries
freestall
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Housing, Animal
Lactation
litter (bedding)
Milk and cheese industries. Ice creams
Posture
sand
sand bedding
Silicon Dioxide
Terrestrial animal productions
Vertebrates
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Summary:In a series of 3 experiments, we documented how sand-bedding depth and distribution changed within freestalls after new bedding was added and the effect of these changes on lying behavior. In experiment 1, we measured changes in bedding depth over a 10-d period at 43 points in 24 freestalls. Change in depth of sand was the greatest the day after new sand was added and decreased over time. Over time, the stall surface became concave, and the deepest part of the stall was at the center. Based on the results of experiment 1, we measured changes in lying behavior when groups of cows had access to freestalls with sand bedding that was 0, 3.5, 5.2, or 6.2cm at the deepest point, below the curb, while other dimensions remained fixed. We found that daily lying time was 1.15h shorter in stalls with the lowest levels of bedding compared with stalls filled with bedding. Indeed, for every 1-cm decrease in bedding, cows spent 11min less time lying down during each 24-h period. In a third experiment, we imposed 4 treatments that reflected the variation in sand depth within stalls: 0, 6.2, 9.9, and 13.7cm below the curb. Again, lying times reduced with decreasing bedding, such that cows using the stalls with the least amount of bedding (13.7cm below curb) spent 2.33h less time per day lying down than when housed with access to freestalls filled with sand (0cm below curb).
ISSN:0022-0302
1525-3198
DOI:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(05)72916-7