Cow comfort gets a lot more attention now than it did in the days when I milked in a tie stall barn. And it should. Research shows that cows will prioritize lying time over eating time. Research also shows that more blood moves through the udder when a cow is lying down, facilitating more milk production. I find it ironic that we thought we were giving our cows the very best with deep straw bedding over a rubber mat in a spacious tie stall. Today’s freestall barns give us so many more options to keep cows clean and comfortable. Keeping cows clean and comfortable keeps them moving through the robotic milking system.
Keeping cows coming to the robots efficiently depends on allowing cows to rest efficiently. Ideally, we want cows to get through the robot quickly, eat quickly, lie down promptly – and get up again. Remember, they make more milk when they are lying down. But they have to get up again, and go back to the robot – 3 to 4 or more times a day in early lactation – without being fetched. A cow will wait to lie down if she knows she will struggle to lie down or be uncomfortable after she lies down. She doesn’t want to do it if she knows it’s going to hurt. But we don’t only lose the time she spends waiting to lie down. If a cow waits to lie down, she will stay down longer before she gets up again. She got really tired. That means less trips to the feed bunk and less trips to the robot.
A comfortable stall surface conforms to the cow’s shape, provides a cushion, minimizes friction with the stall surface, and keeps cows clean. Most agree that deep bedded sand meets those needs better than anything else. It also accelerates wear on everything it touches – and it touches everything, including robot parts. Sand is difficult to move - coming into the barn and going out. We won’t all use sand, and there are good reasons for that. But even the most ardent opponents of sand should work towards stalls that are as close to deep-bedded-sand comfort as possible.
Even deep-bedded stalls need to be managed correctly. Keep stalls full of bedding for the best cow comfort. Research shows that cows will spend 30 minutes less in the stall each day for every inch below the curb level. That doesn’t sound like much, but the same research shows that after 5 days sand in the average stall will be 4 inches below the curb – more in some stalls. That’s a 2-hour reduction in lying time. Underfilled stalls are shorter because cows will lie further forward to avoid the edge of the curb. Underfilled stalls may present a harder surface if the lower material becomes packed. As cows remove top layers of bedding, they are more likely to lie in contaminated bedding. Grooming can help maintain desired levels without adding more bedding.
To keep your cows coming to the robots, don’t underestimate the importance of comfortable stalls.
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