Dairy cattle housing

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Terminology slides

Life stages

Unweaned

Growing

Bulling

Lactating herd

High yielding at beginning of lactation

Low yielding

Dry cows (usually) heavily pregnant

Other things to consider

Sick/lame

Mastitis

Prevent spread

Separate milk containing antibiotics

Calving

Handling

Milking

Bull

Run with adult herd?

Additional accommodation ?

Feed

Water

Bedding

Waste

Common considerations across all life stages

Ease of management

Things often don't get done properly as staff can't do quickly and easily

Hygiene

Lameness

Ventilation

Welfare codes

Cow flow

Stockperson

Animal

Calm as possible

Intervention/restraint

Lactating cow

1/3 of day feeding

1/3 of day ruminating

1/3 day resting

Lameness from standing too much

Locomotion

Parlour access

Water

drink 100 l per day

Observation

Health

Oestrus

Restraint

No stressors

Straw yard

Advantages

Cow comfort , choice of lying position

Decreased lameness

Disadvantages

Bedding , more required , less choice

increased mastitis

Bedding management

Compost effect

Daily top up

Complete clear out 3-6 weeks

Need 2-3 tonnes per cow per 180 days

Issue in some parts of country for that amount of straw

Design

Lying space

Min 7.5 m2

Better 1.25m2/1000 l

Loafing space 3m2

Often combined with area they can feed

Bedding

Must be dry

Storage of straw

Separated from bedding (less faeces in bedding)

Concrete lip - clear step

lots of access points

stops concentration of muck at one entrance point

Long and narrow

Cattle like lying close to wall

More rest

Water trough into loafing area

No acesss from bedding side

Cows urinate and deficate before and after eating and drinking

drier bedding

Good ventilation

See shed designs in intro to housing

Temp around 8/10 degrees

Roof lights

Not direct sunlight on cattle

Heat stress in summer

Dot around

Cubicle system

Advantages

Higher cleanliness

Efficient use of space

Individual lying space

Reduced bulling

Bedding advantages

Design

Rows of bed cubicles

Loafing area

Cow requirements

Lunging space

Cows struggle to get up and stand instead - increases lameness

Cows lie on an angle

Leg space

Rumen space

Too wide - cow lies diagonally and faeces gets in bedding

Length

Cubicle components

Length

2.3m open front

2.6m against wall

Width1.2m

Kerb 15-20cm

Brisket board 1.6-1.8 m

Stops cow going too far forward in cubical

Neck rail

Same function as brisket board

Can cause problems

Divisions

Bedding

Sand

Doesn't provide bacterial growth

Mattress

Waterbed

Recycled waste

Sawdust

Knee drop test

Cow comfort quotient

How many cows lying correctly out of total number in group engaging with cubicle

Min %

Do this 4hrs after they have fed

Also standing quotient

Knee drop test

Number

Legal requirement - 1 cubicle per cow

Better 5-10% extra - lower ranking animals have choice who they sit next to

Cross over points (bedding to loafing area)

End of each row

Every 20 cubicles

Stops dead ends and bulling

Flooring

Clean quickly (slurry management)

Automatic scrapers

Disadvantages

Cows infant get hit by wave of flurry

Spreads disease

Digital dermatitis

Mastitis

Can cause injury

Overcoming these

Wide passage way - slurry is spread out

Flushing with water

Spreads disease

Slipping

Provide grip

Grooving into flooring

Hexagonal grooves allow non slip in all direction

Test

on hands and knees - hurt?

slip on water?

Slopes not too steep

Keep ways short

Avoid right angles

Feeding

Trough space/cow

10cm per 1000 litres or 100kg BW

More space = less aggression

Smooth surface

cow preference a

cleaning

Cow Reach

doubles if feed platform 20cm higher

Food needs to be pushed back towards cows

Personal space

Passage way must be big enough to allow one cow past when another is drinking

Passage between to points

With water path 3.6m

without 2.4m

Feed passage 4.6m

cubicle passage 3m

Water

Peak points

After milking

Sunset

Daily 100l/ cow

Top up flow rate

Cow can drink 15-20lmin

Cleanliness and quality

Gold fish test?

Dry Cows

Hygiene

Better hygiene reduced mastitis

Calving area

Intervention/restraint

Don't get trapped if go down

Grip and comfort

Straining

Calving boxes?

Interventions

AI stalls and crush

Bull housing

Visual contact with other cattle

Feed and water from outside

Segregate for bedding

No accidental access

Restraining facility in pen

Pasture

Cow tracts

Common problems

Gateways

Poor drainage

Machinery co use

Poor surface

Water at Pasture

Access

Distance

If way away then cows like to travel together

Larger trough

Fencing

Effective containment

Injury Risk

Predators/biosecurity

Inclement weather

Shade

Wind shelter

Mastitis

Parlour hygiene

Housing to cow

Cluster to cow

Cow to Cow

stocks people

Clear identification of mastitis cow