Housing Dairy Cows

Question 1

A group of 10 cows are eligible to be inseminated. 5 of them are inseminated & 2 subsequently become pregnant. What is the pregnancy rate?

Answer 1

20%

Question 2

Why should we care about housing in dairy herds?

Answer 2

• cow comfort correlates directly w/ animal health & welfare
• as vets, we must advocate for the animal
• housing (affects the long-term & is a significant financial investment)
• commitment of the producer is critical
• must meet the needs of producers & staff

Question 3

What is the cow time budget?

Answer 3

how much time a cow will spend doing each activity if given a choice

Question 4

Why are stable groups in dairy cattle critical?

Answer 4

• animal hierarchy
• social stress

Question 5

What are the determinants of group size in dairy herds?

Answer 5

• cow time budget
• parlour size & efficiency
• quota

Question 6

how long should the cow be out of its pen if it is milked 2x per day?

Answer 6

1hr/milking

Question 7

how long should the cow be out of its pen if it is milked 3x per day?

Answer 7

40mins/milking

Question 8

What is considered an efficient milking parlour?

Answer 8

> 3.8 turns/hour including 5 mins to and from parlour

Question 9

What bedding materials can be used for dairy cows?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Sand as bedding in dairy herds?

Answer 10

• comfortable & biologically inert
• destroys manure scrapers/handling systems
• vacuum removal to remove manure
• can have flush alleys (water let loose to clean alleys a couple times per day)

Question 11

Straw as bedding in dairy herds?

Answer 11

• barley, wheat, & oat most common
• dry = absorbent
• potential dust issues (less dust w/ flax straw but it clogs manure handling systems)
• might be eaten by cows
• increased risk of streptococcal mastitis

Question 12

Wood shavings as bedding in dairy herds?

Answer 12

• dried, untreated (screen for nails, screws, etc.; flammable)
• large wood chips drain well
• little dust
• supports growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae which degrades old trees but also causes mastitis

Question 13

Oat hulls as bedding in dairy herds?

Answer 13

• byproduct of oat processing
• good for drainage, cleanliness
• irritation issues (rarely used now)

Question 14

Recycled manure solids as bedding in dairy herds?

Answer 14

• dried through a screw press, composting, or digesting
• efficient bacterial growth medium
• massive bacterial growth in first 24 hours after application

Question 15

Why are free stalls (cubicles) good for cleanliness?

Answer 15

• stall allows waste deposition in alleys
• clean stalls at each milking
• lime or drying agent can be potentially put at the back of stalls

Question 16

Why are free stalls (cubicles) good for comfort?

Answer 16

• lie comfortably
• ease of rising

Question 17

what is important about free stall layout in dairy cows?

Answer 17

• described by number of stall rows per feed bunk
• 2 or 3 row barns most common
• more feed bunk space in 2 row pens
• > 3 rows = feeding on both sides

Question 18

What are the different dairy cow arrangements in free stall layout?

Answer 18

• head to head (cheapest)
• tail to tail (ease of cow movement)
• head to tail (allows for observation of parturition)

Question 19

What is the importance of tie stalls (Stanchion barns)?

Answer 19

• impaired natural behaviours
• industry is moving away from these
• basic principles of stalls & bedding are same as for free stalls
• food & water at stall
• manure channels rather than alleys
• potentially electric cow trainers
• daily exercise periods necessary

Question 20

What is important about bedding pack housing in dairy herds?

Answer 20

• loose housing on a bedding material
• manure needs to be removed & bedding added daily (recommended to remove manure multiple times per day)
• till twice per day for composting
• cows have access to an exercise yard

Question 21

What is important about housing dairy cattle on pasture?

Answer 21

• pasture can be a cheap, abundant feed source
• appropriate environmental conditions necessary
• low housing overheads
• decreased milk production/cow
• streptococcal mastitis risk

Question 22

What is important about housing dairy cattle in dry lot dairies?

Answer 22

• loose housing system in outdoor lots
• warm, dry climate needed (basically desert)
• dirt lots that are sloped for drainage
• feed mangers along 1 side
• drives for feed mixers
• management of heat stress necessary

Question 23

What are feed evictions & what makes them worse?

Answer 23

• when more dominant cows will butt others out from the feed bunk (worse w/ overcrowding)

Question 24

What is important about stocking density in dairy herds?

Answer 24

• temptation to overstock for maximum use of facility
• code of practice: (< 1.2 cows/stall)
• enough feed bunk space should be available
• do calculations based on 140% of the expected occupancy

Question 25

What are animal based measures for assessing dairy cow housing?

Answer 25

• lesions on their hocks & knees (stall bedding or size) or necks (neck rail height/feed rail height)
• cleanliness scoring (stall comfort & bedding management)
• lameness (assess flooring, stall comfort, handling)
• knee test (drop to knees in stall)

Question 26

why is ventilation in dairy herd housing important?

Answer 26

• central to dairy cow environment
• cows like colder, dryer climate than we do
• prevents respiratory disease & dry matter intake

Question 27

How do you assess ventilation in dairy cow housing?

Answer 27

• rust (indicates moisture)
• cobwebs (spiders like higher humidity)
• odour
• air flow