Seperation bars

Natural resting position

Box with rubber mat

Construction of laying boxes

In comfortable boxes cows lie for 60% of the day and seldom perch or stand idly. The ideal stall has open forward space for normal rising and lying motions. It has no hazards that cause injury, pain or frustration.

Size:

The laying area in a box should provide space for all normal resting positions and allow cows to stand and lie straight. Cow and stall cleanliness are common in comfortable stalls. Since the different breeds have different heights today, it´s important to calculate with the average size of  your own cows.

Under the following link there are some interesting cow signals that show you if the boxes are too small for your cows: "Cow behaviour to judge stalls"

Seperation bars:

The metal pipes which separate two boxes are called separations bars. These days we have a lot of different separation bars. The newer models are almost flying types. This means that the pipes from the bottom to the top of the box are only in the front of the box. This helps the cows to get up easily and makes the pipes less rusty because the front of the box there is dryer. But there are so many choices you have to make for a good box separation, because the problem that cows get stuck under the bars, is still common. So the construction af the bars should also depend on the average size of the cows.

Knee rail:

The funcition of the knee rail is that the cow can't get too far in the front of the box. When this happens the cow can't get up again. The knee rail should be about 10-15cm high and made of a stabil material without sharp angles. 

Neck rail:

The neckrail has the same job as the knee rail, except that it is higher. But the height depends on the average size of the cow,too. The construction can be out of iron or wood. A new invention that improves the welfare for cows is the flexible neck rail.

Back to "Laying boxes"

Page updated 23.5.2006