They way it should be in a stable too

Natural walking on a good floor

Licking

Jumping

Cow signals

By watching a cow in a stable you can learn a lot about how she feels in there. Obstructions that restrict normal rising and lying or stall features that cause pain, fear or frustration can result  unwanted or abnormal behaviour. Through their behaviour, cows show to barn features what causes them discomfort. That means that there are signals from her which show how suitable the stable is for her.

Here we just explain some signals which are related to floors, but there are more. So if you are interested in this topic, there is a very good book available ("Cow signals"- Jan Hulsen) 

Licking

Cows are using their tongue to groom the fold between their udder and leg. The behaviour should be of interest because it is an indicator of floor slipperiness. Licking behaviour is important for hygiene between the leg and udder.

Walking

A healthy cow walks on pasture places the rear foot into the position vacated by the front foot on the same side. On slippery floors or in dark conditions which alter a cow's confidence, she places her rear foot outside the track of the front foot, alters stride and step length and walking speed. This altered walking behaviour provides greater stability but places greater stress on the outside claw. Choices of flooring and lighting influence walking behaviour, foot health and cow movement. Foot placement, length of stride and step and walking speed are a few items of locomotion pointing to walking behaviour.

A cow's foot placement and walking speed change with confidence in the flooring or lighting in a barn.

The way the cow holds her head while walking is also a sign if she likes the floor or not. If she doesn´t trust the surface, she holds her head deep to have a close look where to step. If she doesn´t have to mind her steps, she keeps her head up. 

Jumping

Cows which are in heat start to jump on each other. This behavior is very important for farmes to see which cows are in heat. On slippery floors less cows follow their instinct because they are afraid of hurting themselves.

Passive Cows

When cows are afraid of moving, they dont't go so frequently to the feeding ally, watering place and back to the laying areas. This may cause discomfort, stress and bad nurtrition which can lead to a lower milk performance

Just take some time when you are in the stable next time...Identify the problems and give your cows a safe and healthy workplace. That is part of our responsibility to the cows.

Back to "Floor and walking areas"

Page updated 23.5.2006