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Facilities & Cow Comfort
Evaluating Systems Chuck Guard
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
This is cow comfort!
But not ideal for udder health control
Philosophy
• Anticipate and include the spatial, social and climatic needs of the cow in design and layout of dairy facilities
• Build things to suit the cow not the man
• Comfort pays in milk production, health & longevity
Ideals – ABC’s
• Air – Fresh, dry, clean
• Bunk – Feed always available without obstacles or
competition
• Comfort – A desirable place to lie down and rise
without risk of injury + protection from thermal stress
Air
• Ventilation systems unless dry lot
• Passive if conditions permit
• Barns with open side walls – 4.25 m high
• Open ridge if 2 slopes to roof – 5 cm opening for each 3 m width
• Roof pitch 4 in 12
Preferred Roof Slope
4
12
18.5 degrees
Temperate Climates
• Needed are:
– Ability to control heat stress in summer
– Moderate the effects of cold in winter
– Insure adequate air exchange to control
humidity and ammonia
• Both active and passive systems can work
• Barn location can greatly favor passive
systems
In hot climates - no sides
Fans to increase airspeed Goal is 9 – 12 km/hr at cow level
Very large fans with deflectors
Outside free access if dry
Cross ventilation with cooling
pads
Supplemental Cooling
• Heat loss directly from cow via evaporation of water
• Questions are:
– When and where to wet the cows?
– How much water to use?
– How to facilitate the evaporation?
• Efficiency related to relative humidity
• Before or after milking parlor
• At feed manger
• Separate facility
• When temperature/humidity index is very
high cooling will only be by conduction to
the water
Supplemental Cooling
Temperature - Humidity Interaction
and Cow Comfort
Relative Ambient Temperature
Humidity 21 24 27 29 32 35 38 41
20 19 22 25 28 30 33 37 41
30 19 23 26 29 33 36 40 45
40 20 23 26 30 34 38 43 56
50 20 24 27 31 36 42 49 57
60 21 24 28 33 38 46 56 65
70 21 25 29 34 41 51 62
80 22 26 30 36 45 58
90 22 26 31 39 50
100 22 27 33 42
• A fine mist will be trapped on the ends of
the hairs
– An entrapped air layer will actually insulate
the cow
• The goal is to soak the cow to the skin
– Big water droplets and 2 to 3 liters per cow
– Water draining from the cow may make
environmental humidity higher
Supplemental Cooling
• Fans can greatly aid in evaporation
• In parlor holding pen:
– Water on for 30 sec
– Fans on for 5 min
– Repeat cycle
• In barn - must have fans where cows
stand or rest
Supplemental Cooling
Cooling cows
waiting to be milked
- Efficient use of
water
Manual cooling
Water sprinklers cool cows while
eating
Spray nozzle – low opening
pressure – no drips or draining
of supply line between cycles
Soaking cows with water after
milking
Shade over parlor holding pen
Shade without stalls – comfort &
hygiene???
Feed Bunk Considerations
• Enough space for >80 % of cows to eat at the same time
• Level of feed surface 8 to 15 cm above level of cow alley
• Feed bunk surface resistant to acids and easy to clean
• Barrier between cow and feed placed to be cow friendly
• Adequate space behind eating cows for 2-way cow traffic
Adequate bunk space
3-row freestall pens limit feed access compared to 2-row pens
Front feet are spread to reach the
ground – Raise the feed bunk level
Elevated bunks:
less saliva & more waste
Feed bunk surfaces:
glazed tile or polyethylene
Barrier – right height & position
Protect feed and cows from sun
and rain – less important for heifers
Measuring Stall Comfort
• Time available to use stalls
• Cow numbers v. stall numbers
• Grouping strategy
• Feeding schedule
Time management for cows
Lying in stalls 14 hours * Away from stalls to milk 3
Eating & drinking 4
Exercise & socializing 2
Management activities 1
total 24
* Lying → ↑ mammary blood flow → ↑ milk synthesis
• Most common violations of ideals are in milking time & management activities
• Parlor capacity must be adequate to milk each group in 60 min if 3X or 90 min if 2X
• Management activities ( breeding, medication, vaccination, veterinary tasks) need to be completed in 1 hour per group
– Organize the work by day of the week to distribute the impact over more days
Time management for cows
Time management for cows
Maximum 3 h / day Maximum 1 h / day
• Even in tie stall barns with feed
continuously available – cows are meal
eaters - 6 to 9 meals per day
• Largest meal between 0600 and 0900
• Smaller meals about every 2 hours until
late evening
• Usually resting from 2200 until 0400
Time management for cows
Feeding management
Time management for cows
Feeding management
• When is fresh feed available?
• Any access limitations?
0900 h
Barn Capacity
• Ideal is 1 cow per stall
– Fresh and close-up pens 0.8 cow per stall
• Many dairies in USA operate at higher
densities – 1.1 to 1.3 cow per stall
– Different economic system without quotas
– Higher marginal profit from more cows even if
individual cow performance decreased?
Barn Capacity
1.3 cows / stall 1.0 cows / stall
Barn Capacity
• Problems with overcrowding – Herd behavior
characteristics of cattle
• Grouping strategies – Separating 1st
lactation from older cows
Measuring Stall Comfort
Look at the cows and the stalls
Goal: >90% of cows using stalls are lying in them properly
Measuring Stall Comfort
You might be mislead by one examination of the stalls but the manure on the cows tells more about average conditions
Cows and stalls are both clean = good stall maintenance
Measuring Stall Comfort
Cleanliness scoring scheme
• 1 manure only up to dewclaws
• 2 manure only up to hocks
• 3 manure on flanks & udder
• 4 whole body dirty
Cleanliness Scoring
1 2
3 4
Cleanliness Scoring
Things other than the stall conditions
may result in dirty cows
Why care about dirty feet?
Direct contact between
feet - legs and teats – udder
when lying in a stall
Ideal = 14 hours lying per day
How can we measure this?
–Frequent visits to the barn
–Hire someone to watch all the time
–Time lapse video recording
Measuring Stall Comfort
Observing individual cows has value
• Do they fit the stalls ?
• Do they align properly ?
• Do they have injuries from the stalls ?
How are stalls maintained ?
Measuring Stall Comfort
Measuring Stall Comfort
Do they fit?
Measuring Stall Comfort
Alignment within the stall
Measuring Stall Comfort
Stall caused lesions
Measuring Stall Comfort
Hocks tell
about stalls
Measuring Stall Comfort
Watch the
cows for
information
about the
feed bunk
management
also.
Measuring Stall Comfort - Maintenance
Measuring Stall Comfort - Maintenance
Measuring Stall Comfort - Maintenance
Measuring Stall Comfort - Maintenance
Sand on concrete platforms
Measuring Stall Comfort - Maintenance
Deep bedded stalls should be filled to the top of the curb
Stall Construction & Barriers
• Examine critically the parts that define the
stall
• Do they permit comfortable entry, lying,
rising and exiting?
• Is the bed soft and clean?
• Do the knee drop test
• Can the cow breathe clean air when lying?
Stall Divider Configuration
Neck rail too low Obstruction in front
Stall Divider Configuration
New but wrong Very old & unfriendly
to cows
Air quality when lying down
Which stall do you think the cows prefer?
Stall Divider Configuration
Stall Divider Configuration
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