Document type : Technical article published on the Agri Mutuel website
Author : TNC
Preview: 60% of the cows in your barn should be lying down at any given moment. To achieve this, good design of access to feed and to the lying area is essential. Fidocl's advisors offer us some tips on improvements we can make.
"Animals are spending increasing amounts of time inside. Farmers can improve their margins through the provision of comfort". This is the agreed view of the Fidocl advisors who audited 32 farms in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region as part of the work for their "Condition Report 2.0". The first thing to bear in mind is a cow's routine:
- 1.5 hours resting,
- 30 minutes eating.
If this is a cow's natural behaviour pattern out at pasture, she must be able to reproduce these same cycles when indoors (about 10 to 12 cycles in the course of 24 hours + 3 hours' daily milking). For this, her comfort while resting and access to the feeding trough are crucial.
The advisors refer to this as the "5 x 60 rule":
- 60 minutes after feeding, 60 percent of the cows should be lying down (20 percent should be at the trough and the rest moving or standing in the cubicles),
- More than 60% of the cows should have a rumen score of 3,
- 60% of cows should be ruminating,
- 60 chews is a sign of good rumination.
Feed should be accessible at all times
Time-lapse cameras were used to analyse the behaviour of the herds. The results are clear: in more than half of the farms, no feed is available after 2am. "The cows will then push against the feed fence while standing to reach what little ration is available, which is not good for their legs. And they will spend most of the night with an empty stomach and then eat a large amount of feed the next morning, which produces large swings in the pH levels of the rumen."
Ideally, say the experts from Fidocl, the feed should be distributed in the evening (so that it is available throughout the night and can be replenished several times during the day). It is also necessary to make up a ration that can't be eaten selectively (no particles > 40 mm).
The study also exposed many problems to do with access to water. As a reminder, 8 to 10 cm per dairy cow of water should be present in the trough.
Comfort in the cubicles
The team also looked at the comfort of the cubicles. In their view, beyond the need for sufficient space, there are four essential measures.
- The height of the neck rail should be between 120 and 125 cm.
- The distance between the neck rail and the rear kerb of the cubicle should be between 190 and 200 cm.
- The diagonal measurement should be greater than 230 cm.
- The clearance in front of the cubicle should be 150 cm. The stop should not be in the way. Many cows fold one leg forward.
- 1 hour less spent lying down means 1 litre less of milk.
Next comes comfort while lying down. The advisors are unanimous, the ideal for cubicles is :
- slatted floor in the cubicle,
- mattress + 3 kg of straw,
- matting + 6 kg of straw,
- concrete + 8 kg of straw.
"Give your cows comfort and they will pay you back! It's often the little things that make the difference. Comfort is very important: lameness has a big impact on productivity. And on the limbs, a simple bald patch needs to be acted on because it is the first sign, before they develop swollen hocks and tarsitis."
