Abstract
The objective was to quantify the incidence of tarsal lesions and level of hygiene by stall bed type. Cows were scored on 100 dairies from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and New York in the fall and winter. Thirty-eight dairies used rubber-filled mattresses (RFM), 27 had sand beds, 29 had waterbeds, and 6 used compost packs (CPk). Stocking density, stall dimensions, bedding amount, bedding frequency, and type of bedding were recorded. One pen of early-lactation multiparous cows on each dairy was scored based on injury of the tarsal joints at the lateral and medial surfaces and tuber calcis at the dorsal, lateral, and medial surfaces. A tarsal score of 1 represented hair loss, 2 was moderate, and 3 indicated severe swelling. Differences between bed types in the percentages of cows with lesions were tested with one-way ANOVA by lesion severity and incidence, with farm as the experimental unit. Cows on sand beds or waterbeds had fewer lesion scores of 1, 2, and 3 than those on RFM. The percentages of score 1 were 54.6±4.4 (RFM), 22.5±4.7 (sand), and 29.8±4.3 (waterbed), whereas the percentages of score 2 were 14.0±1.4, 2.3±1.5, and 5.0±1.4, and of score 3 were 3.0±0.4, 0.2±0.4, and 0.4±0.4. Cows on CPk had no lesions. Hygiene scores ranged from 1 to 5, with 1 being clean and 5 soiled. The percentages of hygiene score 1 were 0 (compost), 0.4 (RFM), 0.4 (sand), and 0.4 (waterbeds); those with score 2 were 79.0, 84.0±0.01, 73.2±0.01, and 80.4±0.01; with score 3 were 20.3, 15.2±0.01, 23.8±0.01, and 18.6±0.01; with score 4 were 0.8, 0.005±0.001, 0.006±0.001, and 0.025±0.003; and with score 5 was 0 for all bed types. Cows on RFM and waterbeds had improved hygiene compared with cows on sand beds. There was no difference in somatic cell count (SCC) by bed type. The percentage of cows in fourth lactation or greater on waterbeds (19.8±1.8) was greater than those on RFM (13.3±1.6) or on sand (13.5±1.8). The percentage culled was lower for cows on waterbeds than on RFM (22.8±1.5 vs. 29.4±1.4). Score 3 tarsal lesions were correlated (r = 0.60) with SCC. The length of the sand bed was correlated with a greater percentage of mature cows. The SCC was correlated with the percentage of cows reported lame on the day of the visit (r = 0.45) and with neck rail height (r = −0.26). On dairies with RFM, severe lesions (r = 0.60), death losses (r = 0.52), and percentage of the herd reported lame on the day of the visit (r = 0.52) were all correlated with the SCC. Dairies with higher percentages of lesions had higher SCC, death losses, lameness, and culling rates. Adding bedding several times per week may reduce the incidence of lesions.
Highlights
Plumb (1893) demonstrated the economic and welfare advantages from housing dairy cows during the cold winter months rather than leaving them outside
Cows on compost packs (CPk) exhibited no lesions of any kind, with the exception of a few cows on one dairy that were recently purchased from a freestall facility
There was no difference between cows on sand or waterbeds with regard to lesion score, there was a difference in lesion location
Summary
Plumb (1893) demonstrated the economic and welfare advantages from housing dairy cows during the cold winter months rather than leaving them outside. The design and dimension of stalls affect their use by cows (Tucker et al, 2004). Cows should be able to perform the natural movements associated with getting up and lying down without injury; cows provided with a softer bed are known to stand up and lie down twice as often as cows on concrete (Haley et al, 2001). Cows should be provided comfortable, well-maintained beds (Tucker et al, 2006) and enough beds so they do not have to wait to lie down (Wierenga, 1990). The cushioning ability of stall beds is an important feature in stall design (Manninen et al, 2002; Fulwider and Palmer, 2004b). According to Haley et al (1999), mattresses were responsible for fewer leg injuries than concrete stalls
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