Testing the ability of contact mats to identify problematic stall configurations

Abstract

Comparing the frequency of cow contact with stall rails across multiple stall designs may help to determine which stall configurations best promote cow ease of movement and reduce injury risk. The objective of this study was to compare the frequency of cow contact with the dividers across different stall treatments using the contact mat (CM) system to identify problematic stall designs. A total of six stall treatments were each tested against for six consecutive weeks against control (CON) stall condition: three treatments that modified the placement of the tie-rail (TRFARM, TRNEW1, TRNEW2) and three separate treatments that increased chain length (LCL), doubled stall width (DSW), and shortened manger wall (SMW) height. CM were affixed to the stall dividers to record the frequency of cow contact per second. Cows were ranked in descending order from highest frequency of divider contact to lowest frequency of divider contact for each week. TRNEW1 and TRNEW2 were the only stall treatments with a consistently lower frequency of divider contact than CON, whereas DSW was consistently higher than CON. The results suggest that the CM system can be used to identify problematic stall configurations to independently substantiate findings related to cow comfort.