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.
Highlights
IntroductionCattle are gregarious animals searching for food, water, safety, and comfortable resting places [1,2]
Under natural conditions, cattle are gregarious animals searching for food, water, safety, and comfortable resting places [1,2]
Lying is an important behavior of dairy cattle and adequate rest is essential to maintain the health, welfare, and productivity of dairy cows, factors all influenced by stall design
Summary
Cattle are gregarious animals searching for food, water, safety, and comfortable resting places [1,2]. This review focuses on the design of a free stall as a place to rest for cows. Several studies on different aspects of the free stall design are reviewed in the present paper to assist farmers and advisors to come to an optimal design of the free stalls. This should help to improve animal welfare, increase the productive live, and optimize lifetime milk yield. The free stall components may conflict with the cow body, her movements, etc., proper design/location is of importance for animal welfare.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
