Dairy 5 Flashcards
Importance of housing
-long term situation
-significant financial investment
-directly affects animal welfare
-must meet needs of producers and staff
Cow stall size
Increased lameness in cows that don’t fit well in stalls
-means they are standing more, and not laying down
Group stability
-important for animal hierarchy and social stress
What determines group size?
-cow time budget- amount of time if given the choice will spend doing each activity
-parlor size and efficiency
2x vs 3x milking
2x: cow out of pen for 1h per milking
3x: cow out of pen 40mins/milking
Typical time a cow spends doing each activity
Lying: 12 hours
Milking: 2 hours
Standing in stall 2.4hr
Standing in alley 2.9hr
Drinking 0.4hr
Eating 4.4hr
Efficient parlor
more than 3.8 turns per hour including 5mins to and from parlour
-helps determine group size
Max group and herd size
Without quota, determined by parlor efficiency. Can have as many cows as can be milked in parlour
Bedding material options
-sand
-straw
-wood shavings
-oat hulls
-compost/manure solids
Sand
-comfortable and biologically inert
But destroys manure scrapers/handling systems,
Vacuum removal needed or flush alleys
Straw
-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
Wood shavings
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
Oat hulls
-By product of oat processing
-good drainage and clean
-irritation issues so rarely used now
Recycled manure solids
-dried through a screw press, composting or digesting
-efficient bacterial growth medium, especially in first 24hours after application
Free stalls
-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)
Mattress vs. deep bedding
-Animals in deep bedding often have better animal welfare
-Mattress with bedding can work well
Free stall layout
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
Cow arrangements of free stalls
-head to head= cheapest
-tail to tail= ease of cow movement
-head to tail: animals all facing same direction; observe parturition
Tie stalls
-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
Bedding packs
-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
Pasture
-cheap, abundant feed source
-appropriate environmental conditions
-low housing costs
-decreased milk production per cow
-issues with streptococcal mastitis
Dry lot dairies
-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
Stocking Density
-less than 1.2 cows/stall
-120ft2/11m2
-feedbunk space (60cm/24” for lactating cows)
Calculations should be based on 140% expected occupancy
What are lesions on hocks and knees due to?
-stall bedding, size
What are lesions on necks due to?
-neck rail height or feed rail height
Cleanliness scoring
-based on stall comfort and bedding management
What to assess if lameness is issue?
-check flooring, stall comfort, handling
-walk slowly when moving cows; they want to move at half our walking pace
How to test bedding?
-drop knees into stall
-brush off knees and they should be dry
What does good ventilation help with?
-respiratory disease
-dry matter intake
-body temperature (will want to cool down if 15-20C, will want to warm up if -10–15C)
Assessment of ventilation
-rust (lots of water vapour in air)
-cobwebs
-odour
-air flow
