Design of Free Stalls for Dairy Herds: A Review

Abstract

Lying is an important behavior of dairy cattle. Cows should spend more than 50% of a day lying as it has a high impact on their milk yield and animal welfare. The design, size, and flooring properties of the free stalls influence the time cows spend lying, the way they lie down, and their rising movements. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the currently available information with the aim to assist farmers and advisors to come to an optimal design of the free stalls. The design of the free stalls should enable the cows to move and lie in positions as natural as possible. Cows should rest, with all parts of the body, on a clean, dry and soft bed, be able to stretch their front legs forward, lie on their sides with unobstructed space for their neck and head, and rest with their heads against their flanks without hindrance from a partition. When they stand, they should not be hindered by neck rails, partitions, or supports. A comfortable place for cows to lie down helps cows to stay healthy, improve welfare, and increase milk yield. Hence, the probability of a longer productive life for the cows increases and the number of replacements per year decreases.

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Rib Lesions in Dairy Cows

“…The purpose of the curb is to reduce bedding material waste, and ideally, it should be at the level of the lying surface and not above it. In our study, stalls with an exposed or salient traumatic curb (sharp edges versus rounded edges) were associated with more lesions probably because cows reduce the time lying down in these uncomfortable conditions or because cows try to adopt alternative but awkward positions to avoid lying down on the preeminent back edge of the stall [1][2][3]29,32].…”

“…Stall characteristics have been proven to be related to the occurrence of different kinds of lesions and poor welfare [1][2][3]29]. Possible causes for the cranial-ventral lesions are the type of stalls (stalls versus straw yards) and the dimensions of the stalls, especially the width, and bedding.…”

“…The bovine thoracic cavity is protected by 13 ribs on each side [4]. Some areas of these bones are easily exposed to trauma, which can be self-inflicted, caused by other animals, or by collisions with housing structures (stall dividing rails, for example) [1][2][3]. The location of the lesions may depend on the cause, meaning that various risk factors often come into play, and, consequently, different farms may have their own more prevalent injury location.…”

“…Stall design plays a major role in the prevalence of many skin and muscular-skeletal lesions in dairy cows [1][2][3] and this impact may be more severe if lying down is not easy, as it happens with lame animals. These lesions have been described in various parts of the limbs (e.g., carpus, hock, and neck) but very rarely have ribs been included.…”