Dairy 5

Question 1

Importance of housing

Answer 1

-long term situation
-significant financial investment
-directly affects animal welfare
-must meet needs of producers and staff

Question 2

Cow stall size

Answer 2

Increased lameness in cows that don’t fit well in stalls
-means they are standing more, and not laying down

Question 3

Group stability

Answer 3

-important for animal hierarchy and social stress

Question 4

What determines group size?

Answer 4

-cow time budget- amount of time if given the choice will spend doing each activity

-parlor size and efficiency

Question 5

2x vs 3x milking

Answer 5

2x: cow out of pen for 1h per milking

3x: cow out of pen 40mins/milking

Question 6

Typical time a cow spends doing each activity

Answer 6

Lying: 12 hours

Milking: 2 hours

Standing in stall 2.4hr

Standing in alley 2.9hr

Drinking 0.4hr

Eating 4.4hr

Question 7

Efficient parlor

Answer 7

more than 3.8 turns per hour including 5mins to and from parlour
-helps determine group size

Question 8

Max group and herd size

Answer 8

Without quota, determined by parlor efficiency. Can have as many cows as can be milked in parlour

Question 9

Bedding material options

Answer 9

-sand
-straw
-wood shavings
-oat hulls
-compost/manure solids

Question 10

Sand

Answer 10

-comfortable and biologically inert

But destroys manure scrapers/handling systems,

Vacuum removal needed or flush alleys

Question 11

Straw

Answer 11

-barley, wheat, oat most common

-dry=absorbent

-potential dust issues: less dust with flax straw but clogs manure handling systems

-might be eaten by cows

-increased risk of streptococcal mastitis

Question 12

Wood shavings

Answer 12

Dried, untreated BUT need to screen for nails and screws.
-flammable so need to be careful
-large wood chips drain well
-little dust
-supports growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae= degrades wood but causes mastitis

Question 13

Oat hulls

Answer 13

-By product of oat processing

-good drainage and clean

-irritation issues so rarely used now

Question 14

Recycled manure solids

Answer 14

-dried through a screw press, composting or digesting

-efficient bacterial growth medium, especially in first 24hours after application

Question 15

Free stalls

Answer 15

-comfort (lie comfortably and easy to rise)
*test with knee test- then brush knees and bedding should fall off and you should be dry

-clean (stall allows for waste deposition in back alley; can clean stalls at each milking, potential lime/drying agent at back of stalls)

Question 16

Mattress vs. deep bedding

Answer 16

-Animals in deep bedding often have better animal welfare

-Mattress with bedding can work well

Question 17

Free stall layout

Answer 17

Described by number of stall rows per feed bunk
-2 or 3 row barns most common
*2 row barns more expensive because more concrete
-more feedbunk space in two row pens
-more than 3 rows= feeding on both sides

Question 18

Cow arrangements of free stalls

Answer 18

-head to head= cheapest

-tail to tail= ease of cow movement

-head to tail: animals all facing same direction; observe parturition

Question 19

Tie stalls

Answer 19

-impair natural behaviour
-industry moving away from this
-feed and water at stall
-manure channels rather than alleys
-need to give them daily exercise periods

Question 20

Bedding packs

Answer 20

-loose housing on a bedding material
-need daily removal of manure and bedding addition (probably should remove manure 2x/day)
-compost: till 2x/day
-have access to exercise yard

Question 21

Pasture

Answer 21

-cheap, abundant feed source
-appropriate environmental conditions
-low housing costs
-decreased milk production per cow
-issues with streptococcal mastitis

Question 22

Dry lot dairies

Answer 22

-loose housing systems in outdoor lots
-warm dry climates
-dirt lots with sloped drainage
-drives for feed mixers
-management of heat stress is biggest concern

Question 23

Stocking Density

Answer 23

-less than 1.2 cows/stall
-120ft2/11m2
-feedbunk space (60cm/24” for lactating cows)

Calculations should be based on 140% expected occupancy

Question 24

What are lesions on hocks and knees due to?

Answer 24

-stall bedding, size

Question 25

What are lesions on necks due to?

Answer 25

-neck rail height or feed rail height

Question 26

Cleanliness scoring

Answer 26

-based on stall comfort and bedding management

Question 27

What to assess if lameness is issue?

Answer 27

-check flooring, stall comfort, handling
-walk slowly when moving cows; they want to move at half our walking pace

Question 28

How to test bedding?

Answer 28

-drop knees into stall
-brush off knees and they should be dry

Question 29

What does good ventilation help with?

Answer 29

-respiratory disease
-dry matter intake
-body temperature (will want to cool down if 15-20C, will want to warm up if -10–15C)

Question 30

Assessment of ventilation

Answer 30

-rust (lots of water vapour in air)
-cobwebs
-odour
-air flow