🏠 Lecture 8: Dairy Housing

Group Maternity Pen vs Individual Maternity Pen

Often influenced by space constraints

Housing During Transition Period - Prepartum

• Close-up pen

  • Pen for prepartum cows

  • Cows moved to pen ~3 weeks before calving

• Maternity/calving pen

  • Pen for prepartum cows few days/hours before calving

  • Sometimes producers move cows only when calving process begins

  • “Just in time management”

  • Group or individual pens

• Sometimes closeup and maternity pens are combined (space constraints)

Do Cows Prefer to Calve in Private?

• We hypothesized that indoor-housed cows are motivated to seek seclusion from herdmates (and other perceived threats) and will use a 'hide' if given the choice

• The results of our preference tests indicate that even modern, indoor-housed dairy cows are looking for a secluded place to calve, perhaps especially in busy barns and during busy times of the day

Housing During Transition Period - Fresh

• Fresh pen

  • Pen for postpartum fresh cows

  • Cows may stay for 1-21 days after calving, then move pens

  • Free choice hay sometimes offered

  • Sometimes housed with hospital cows

• Not all farms do this, sometimes cows enter main lactation pen immediately

Grouping Cows Throughout Lactation

• Helps to better manage cows

• Feed diets based on different needs

• Helps keep an eye on fresh cows

• Grouped by:

• Stage of lactation

  • Fresh

  • Early Lactation

  • Mid-lactation

  • Late lactation

• Parity

  • Primiparous

  • Multiparous

• Milk production

  • High yielding

  • Low yielding

Types of Dairy Systems

PTFD - Stalls are more common in Canada

• Pasture

• Drylot

• Tie-stall

  • One of main systems in Canada

• Free stall

  • One of main systems in Canada

Pasture

• Not common in Canada

  • Short grazing season in Canada

  • Canada is cold

  • Canadian organic farms require pasture access

  • High milk production in Canadian cows

    • Energy demands not met by pasture alone

• Common in Australia + New Zealand

  • Most cows supplemented with concentrate (grain and premix) or PMR (partial mixed ration) in milking parlor or shade pad

• Cows live in pasture and walk to milking parlor

Drylot

• Not typical in Canada

• Popular in SW USA

  • Land must be “dry”

• Cows housed in large outdoor pens/corrals

  • Shade shelters, fans, misters usually included in pens

Tie-Stall/Pipeline

• Cows are tied to stalls

• Cows eat, sleep, are milked in stalls

• Cows go outside during day for exercise/free time

Most common system in Canada (mostly in Eastern provinces)

Barn Types in Canada

• 73% tie stall (mostly Eastern provinces, ON, QC, etc.)

• 27% free stall (mostly Western provinces, BC, AB, etc.)

Tie-Stall/Pipeline Advantages vs. Disadvantages

• Advantages

  • Individualized cow monitoring + management

  • No competition for food/water

  • Individual cow space

  • Improved sanitation

• Disadvantages

  • Less exercise

  • Less socialization

  • Stall sanitation must be managed

  • Lots of work for milkers

  • Heat detection may be harder

  • Negative public opinion

Tie-Stall/Pipeline Phase Out

• Effective April 2027, cows must not be tethered continuously

• Cows must be provided sufficient regular opportunity for freedom of movement to promote good welfare

• Currently debated whether or not tie-stalls meet this criteria

Free-Stall

• Cows aren’t tethered to stalls, free to wander around barn

• Cows walk to milking parlor

• Pens made up of stalls for resting and feed alleys for eating

Free-Stall Advantages vs. Disadvantages

• Advantages

  • Unrestricted, free movement of cows

  • Improved heat detection

  • More cow exercise

  • More cow socialization

• Disadvantages

  • Food/water competition

  • Cow hierarchy, “boss” cows

  • Decreases resting and eating time for cows

  • Less milk production

  • More cow-cow disease transmission

  • More injuries

Barn Design Considerations

• Type of bedding in stalls

• Stall design

• Stocking density

• Ventilation

• Heating/cooling

• Feed/water locations