We are approaching the winter housing period, so farmers must be mindful of keeping lameness to a minimum through good practices and comfortable cubicles.
The mild and dry weather continues into November and is forecasted for the next week, which means cows are able to stay out and make the most out of grazing for longer than expected.
Hoof trimming, foot baths and lameness monitoring, along with comfortable cubicles, is essential in preventing lameness in housed dairy cows.
As cows come in for housing, they are going to be mainly standing on concrete surfaces, which means they are going to need a comfortable place to lie down, rest and not be on their feet for longer than necessary.
Dairy cows would often spend about 12-14 hours of the day resting on cubicles, with the remainder of the day spent milking, eating, and drnking.
If cows don’t have comfortable cubicles to lie down on, they won’t spend much time lying down, which can lead to health issues, such as lameness and affect milk production.
Lameness
Preventing lameness is first and foremost done through good hygiene on your cubicle mats, as brushing or scraping mats should be done twice daily followed by a top-up of lime.
Poor cubicle design will result in discomfort to your cows, which will increase the risk of lameness and so having the right size cubicle is crucial to allow cows to lie down and rise comfortably.
For your Holstein Friesian cow, the length of the cubicle should be at least 2.35m, which will include at least 1.7m for the bedded lying area, as well as 0.65m for the lunge zone in front of the brisket board and at least 1.15m wide.
In head-to-head cubicles, the lunge zone is shared and between the two cubicles, the raised cubicle bed space should be 4.6m wide.
For your jersey cows or your crossbred cows, you are not going to require the same space and this should be taken into account when putting in cubicles.
Ensure that the brisket board is well-positioned to prevent the cow from lying too far forward, limiting cubicle soiling or lying backwards which can cause leg injuries and the neck rail is high enough to allow cows to easily lunge forward when rising.
A slope on the cubicle base of one in 20 from the front to the back is optimal to ensure that adequate drainage of urine, milk and other fluid.
A number of cows (more than 20%) perching or standing in the cubicle is a sign of poor design or lack of cubicle comfort, and may require some small tweaks to the brisket board or the neck rail.
Cubicles
Having a 5% surplus in the number of cubicle spaces will allow cows to comfortably pick and choose when they want to lie down and will reduce any overcrowding and subsequent lameness issues; 10% of cows standing in passageway indicates a cubicle shortage.
The passageway width should not be narrower than 3m, as otherwise it will restrict the movement of cows leaving adjacent cubicles, making those cubicles less preferable to use in the first place according to Animal Health Ireland (AHI).
Between the feed face and the edge of the cubicle, there should be at least 4.5m to allow the cows to move freely between one feeding and lying down.
A cubicle crossover should be at least every 22 spaces to allow for good cow flow and not create dead ends in the shed, with water troughs located at each crossover to avoid competition for water.
Keeping your cubicle mats clean is essential to reduce the presence of bacteria on the mat and to minimise the udder and feet picking up infection.
The rubber mats need maintenance and a farmer should make sure they are firmly in place to provide comfort to the cows along with frequently spreading hydrated lime or a sawdust/lime mix.
Lameness can become a serious issue when cows are coming in for housing, as the hoof can take time to adapt to the long hour on hard concrete and so, the cubicles must be comfortable to make sure the cow get off their feet as much as possible.