Design of walkway floors for dairy heifers and cows

Colloque européen - Bâtiment d'élevage du futur
Design of walkway floors for dairy
heifers and cows in loose housing
systems – a subject of discussion
Michael Ventorp
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Introduction
Soft or hard walkway flooring
Some other aspects of walkway flooring design
Walkway flooring in the future
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Colloque européen - Bâtiment d'élevage du futur
Introduction
• Claw diseases – a common group of suffering
by dairy cattle in loose housing systems:
–
–
–
Laminits related (metabolic and traumatic* causes)
Hygiene related
Infectious
(* e.g. physical forces because of inappropriate floor design)
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Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
Introduction
• For instance in Great Britain: 55 % lameness,
of which:
–
–
–
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Sole ulcer: 28 %
Abscesses in white line: 22 %
Digital dermatitis: 8 %
[Clarkson et al. 1996]
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Introduction
• Claw diseases are costly for the farmer and
painfull for the animals
–
A sole ulcer amount to about € 500 in direct and
indirect* costs [Esselmont & Spicer, 1996; Bergsten 2009]
• Likely profitable to invest in appropriate floor
design
* e.g. milk yield reduction, diminshed fertility, increased
work-load and illness complications
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Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
Hypothesis - statement
• Common (concrete) solid or slatted floors are
often far too:
– hard
– slippery
– dirty
– wet
and causes many of the laminitis and hygiene related
claw diseases!
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Own study: floor softness/hardness
Materials & Methods
•
•
•
Heifers were followed from one year before expected
calving throughout their 1st lactation
Heifers:
two area straw yard or
cubicle and concrete
passageway floor
PASTURE
1st lactation cows:
concrete or rubber slatted
SOFT
HARD
floor and cubicles
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Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
Table 1. Effect on claw diseases of 1st calvers on slatted
concrete floor compared to slatted rubber.
Odds Ratio (OR) and results of likelihood ratio test (PLR ). N=118
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Claw disease
OR
P LR
Heel horn erosion
0.49
0.08
Digital dermatitis
1.06
0.89
Haemorrhages of sole including
sole ulcer
Haemorrhages of white line
2.19
0.05
2.82
0.01
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Table 2 – Effect on leg injures and lameness of 1st first calvers
housed on slatted concrete floor compared to slatted rubber.
Odds Ratio (OR) and results of likelihood ratio test (PLR ). N=118
Leg injuries
OR
PLR
Hairlessness
2.37
0.21
Sore
2.57
0.02
Swellings
2.45
0.15
Lameness
3.64
0.01
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Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
Figure 1. 24 hour time budget on different walkway floor material
[Olsson et al. 2005]
70
Maybe the cause of better leg health?
60
% of 24 hour
50
***
Slatted conrete floor
Mastic asphalt
Rubber mats
40
30
***
20
*
*
10
0
Lying in cubicle
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Eating at feeding Standing/walking
table
in alleys
Standing in
cubicle
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Colloque européen - Bâtiment d'élevage du futur
Table 3. Effect on claw diseases of heifers in two area straw
yard compared to solid concrete floor.
Odds Ratio (OR) and results of likelihood ratio test (PLR ). N=139
Claw disease
OR
P LR
Heel horn erosion
2.15
0.06
Digital dermatitis
0.33
0.02
Haemorrhages of sole including
sole ulcer
Haemorrhages of white line
0.46
0.06
0.44
0.20
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Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
Table 4. Claw health of 1st calvers on different walkway floors
dependent on flooring during time as heifers. N=118
Per cent healthy 1st calvers
Straw bed Concrete Straw bed Concrete
Concrete
Rubber
70
70
59
50
70
78
79
69
Floor…
.. of heifers
of 1st calvers
Heel horn erosion
Digital dermatitis
Haemorrhages of sole
including sole ulcer
Haemorrhages of white
line
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
37
48
52
66
37
41
59
67
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Own study: floor softness/hardness
Conclusion
• Soft (rubber) walkway floor to cows (and
•
•
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heifers) is to prefer
Hard walkway floor to heifers is to prefer if hard
walkway floor to cows is used
No floor changing around calving (probably
months of adaptation)
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
Feed-stalls (feeding stands with partitions)
• The purpose of feed-stall: soft, dry and clean
floor; and scrapers do not disturb the cows
when eating
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Feed-stalls
•
Displacement per cow and 24 hours period. N=32
7
6
5
No of displacements
4
3
2
1
0
Without feed-stall
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With feed-stall
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
Combining solid and slatted floor
• Solid floor is more animal friendly but slatted
floor has better drainage capacity. Combine
them!
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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Colloque européen - Bâtiment d'élevage du futur
Walkway flooring in the future
•
•
•
•
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22 et 23 octobre 2009 - Lille
Soft floor (e.g. rubber with some claw wearing off or
combined with some abrasive area - “pedicure areas”)
Solid floors with drainage capacity to a certain extent
combined with frequent scraping
Heifers’ legs and feet adapted to the cows floor – no
changing from soft to hard floor around calving (± 3
month?)
Feed-stalls
Livestock housing for the future – 22-23 October 2009
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