Comfort for the Cows - Stall Design

[Guest guest]

ISCOWP (Balabhadra Dasa & Chaya Dasi - USA) wrote:

 

>SB 10.8.16

>PURPORT:

>

>For the cowherd men and the cows, Krsna is the supreme friend. Therefore He

>is worshiped by the prayer namo-brahmanya deväya go-brähmana-hitäya ca. His

>pastimes in Gokula, His dhäma, are always favorable to the brähmanas and the

>cows. His first business is to give all comfort to the cows and the

>brähmanas. In fact, comfort for the brähmanas is secondary, and comfort for

>the cows is His first concern.

>

 

Here's the article on comfortable stall design from the current issue of

Dairy Herd Management.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

*******************

 

Dairy Herd Management (2/1/2003)

4 MISTAKES TO AVOID IN FREE-STALL DESIGN

By Shirley Roenfeldt

 

When it comes to choosing their bed, your cows have a lot in common with

Goldilocks. As surely as Goldilocks rejected the beds used by Papa Bear

and Mama Bear, your cows will reject or use begrudgingly free-stalls

that are too short, too narrow, or contain too hard of a bed.

Achieving cow comfort in free-stalls is a game of inches. And, if you

want the cows to get comfy in their beds, you have to combine the right

dimensions with good management.

 

Ten to 15 years ago, our biggest concern with free-stalls was to get

the cows to lie down. Now, we want them to lie down and be pristine,

says Dan McFarland, extension agricultural engineer at Penn State

University. In order to accomplish that, you must give your cows the

inches they need.

 

Listed below are the four most common mistakes made with free-stalls.

Use this guide to help you avoid making the same mistakes.

 

Mistake #1 Mounting free-stall loops on horizontal pipe.

 

Why it happens: As people grow impatient to get the barn done, or cut

cost, someone almost always suggests mounting the free-stall dividers on

horizontal pipe or iron. After all, it would be a lot quicker than

having to install a post for every single divider. The change would save

time and money.

 

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. When you mount the

free-stall dividers on horizontal pipe, you block the cows forward

lunge space (see photo above left). So, unless youre going to make the

stalls longer in order to replace the forward lunge space that the

horizontal pipe has blocked youll have to use free-stall loops that

allow for side lunging. Even then, youre making a compromise, because

cows prefer to lunge forward, not sideways.

 

The goal: Mount every divider on a vertical post. You can mount

free-stall dividers on both sides of the post in head-to-head stalls,

but you want one post for each set of dividers.

 

The other important point to remember when hanging the free-stall

dividers is to mount them at the correct height 44 to 48 inches above

the rear curb. If you plan to use mechanical grooming devices in the

stalls, adequate space must be allowed between the bottom of the loop

and the bedding, says John Smith, extension dairy specialist at Kansas

State University. Otherwise you wont have enough clearance to groom the

stalls mechanically without damaging the loops.

 

Mistake #2 Installing imposing brisket boards.

 

Why it happens: If you want to make sure the cow stops and lies where

she is supposed to, its tempting to install a large brisket board. But,

using a 2-by-10 or a 2-by-12 for a brisket board is definitely overkill,

says Brian Perkins, technical services specialist with Monsanto Dairy

Business, Canandaigua, N.Y. Remember, brisket boards should be a

suggestion to the cow, not a rule.

 

The goal: The role of the brisket board is to help position the cow as

she lies down. It should be placed 66 to 70 inches from the rear curb of

the stall in sand-bedded stalls. The top of the brisket board should be

no more than 4 inches above the top of the rear curb.

 

Mistake #3 Deciding stall dimensions without knowing the size of your cows.

 

Why it happens: Many producers dont know the actual size of their cows.

The milking herd can range in size from 1,200 pounds to 2,000 pounds. If

you size the stalls for smaller cows, stall usage will go down as the

herd ages and larger animals find it difficult to use the stalls.

 

If you built a new dairy and stall usage was great when you started out

with all heifers, but declined as the herd aged, it could be that your

stalls arent large enough.

The goal: Stall dimensions should be selected based on your largest

cows, stresses McFarland. And, if you have a heifer group, you can

always adjust the neck rails on those stalls to better position the

heifers in the stalls. But if the stall is too small to begin with, you

dont have any options to improve cow comfort for your larger cows.

 

Head-to-head free-stalls should be 16 feet in length or 8 feet per

stall and 48 inches wide. In a six-row barn, stalls located against

the outside wall should be at least 8.5 feet long in order to give the

cows enough forward lunge space.

 

Mistake #4 Improper use or positioning of neck rails.

 

Why it happens: Many people still dont understand the function of a

neck rail, says Smith. It is one of the most important pieces to

position the cow properly. A properly placed neck rail allows a cow to

place all four feet on the stall bed so she can lie down, but prevents

her from going too far forward to preserve lunging space. It also

encourages a cow to step back as she rises to exit the stall. However,

in order to make sure the stall stays clean many people position the

neck rail too far back decreasing stall usage.

 

When you first turn cows into a new barn, you need to push the neck

rails forward about 70 inches from the back of the stall to

encourage cows to enter and use the stalls. Then, and only then, can you

start to push the neck rails back in order to position the cows to help

limit urinating and defecating in the stall.

 

Remember, the first goal should be to get the cows to use the stalls.

The second is to get the majority of urine and feces to fall in the

alley and not in the stalls.

The goal: Neck rails should be placed 66 inches from the alley side of

the rear curb of the stall and 48 inches above the stall bed. Neck rails

should be fixed in place, not free to move up and down.

 

Some of the problems that arise in free-stalls are not the result of

improperly sized stalls. Its the lack of daily stall management that

leads to the problem.

 

As we have learned more about how to make cows more comfortable, stall

usage has increased, says McFarland. However, an increase in stall

management must coincide with an increase in cow usage. Stalls that are

used every day need daily maintenance.