Effects of sawdust bedding dry matter on lying behavior of dairy cows: A dose-dependent response

• Published in: Journal of dairy science 2010-04, Vol.93 (4), p.1561-1565
• Main Authors: Reich, L.J., Weary, D.M., Veira, D.M., von Keyserlingk, M.A.G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: animal behavior; animal comfort; Animal Feed; Animal productions; Animal Welfare; Animals; Bedding and Linens - standards; Bedding and Linens - veterinary; bedding quality; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cattle - physiology; cow comfort; Cross-Over Studies; dairy cows; Dairying - methods; dry matter content; Female; Floors and Floorcoverings - standards; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Holstein; Housing, Animal; litter (bedding); lying behavior; Milk and cheese industries. Ice creams; Posture; Random Allocation; sawdust; season; seasonal variation; Seasons; Temperature; Terrestrial animal productions; Vertebrates
• ISSN: 0022-0302; 1525-3198
• DOI: 10.3168/jds.2009-2713

The objective was to determine the effect of sawdust bedding dry matter on the lying behavior of Holstein cows. Dry matter (DM) was varied systematically over 5 treatment levels to test how cows respond to damp bedding. This experiment was repeated during summer and winter to test if the effects of damp bedding varied with season. The 5 bedding treatments averaged (±SD) 89.8±3.7, 74.2±6.4, 62.2±6.3, 43.9±4.0, and 34.7±3.8% DM. Over the course of the trial, minimum and maximum temperatures in the barn were 2.6±2.0 and 6.8±2.2°C in the winter and 13.3±2.5 and 22.6±4.1°C in the summer. In both seasons, 5 groups of 3 nonlactating cows were housed in free stalls bedded with sawdust. Following a 5-d acclimation period on dry bedding, groups were exposed to the 5 bedding treatments in a 5 × 5 Latin square. Each treatment lasted 4 d, followed by 1 d when the cows were provided with dry bedding. Stall usage was assessed by 24-h video scanned at 5-min intervals. Responses were analyzed within group (n=5) as the observational unit. Bedding DM affected lying time, averaging 10.4±0.4 h/d on the wettest treatment and increasing to 11.5±0.4 h/d on the driest bedding. Lying time varied with season, averaging 12.1±0.4 h/d across treatments during the winter and 9.9±0.6 h/d during the summer, but season and bedding DM did not interact. These results indicate that access to dry bedding is important for dairy cows.