| Outcomes of Nasek / Improving animal welfare / Laying areas / Summary from our countries | Wednesday 11.2.2009 |
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Summary from our countries
Austria: The average size of the boxes in the three countries is very similar. The most important problem, which you can see in all countries, is that the cows can’t get up and lay down without problems. For this problem the separation bars and the bottom material have a big role,too. For a comfortable box all the parts of the box have to fit together. In the old tie up stables the boxes are often too short, because then when there is less work with cleaning. Most of the tie-up-stables are old, because most of the farmers would build a free stable. Another reason is the constant breeding of the cows hs made the cows bigger. It is not very comfortable for the cows when the hinder legs are always on the grating. It causes problems with the claws and more stress for the cow. In the new free stables the boxes have mostly the right size. Sometimes the boxes are a bit too short and the cow’s tail end stands out of the box. There are more problems with the separation bars. The most used separation bars in Austria are of galvanised metal. But also a high percentage is made of wood. Also some farmers have separation bars which can be moved. In Austria the most common litter material is straw because deep straw beddings are very common in Austria. Also common is sawdust in boxes with mattresses. But there are also farmers which use sawdust in deep bedding boxes. Farmers use sawdust on mattresses because it binds the dung and so the cows are not so dirty. We have a lot of wood in Austria and so the farmers can buy sawdust at sawmills. Not a lot of farmers grow straw by themselves because it’s too much work. So most of the farmers buy straw from Germany or from the east part of Austria. Farmers like straw because it creates good dung, it’s cheap and it’s very soft. Sand: This kind of litter material is rarely used in Austria. The farmers said that it is very good for the cows but it is too much work for them. In Austria the farmers in free stall stables don’t use any special bottom material in their boxes because most of them have deep straw boxes. In these boxes it is not as necessary to have a cow mattress as it is in other types. In the tie up stables the most farmers have the old and pretty hard rubber mats. It is much better than concrete floor but the cow don’t lie very comfortable. When a cow lies down, the most weight of the cow is for a short time on the front wrist and when there is no protection, it hurts the cow and they won’t lie down.
Finland: The right size of the laying area in tie-up stables is always one of the biggest problem also in Finland. In some stables which we visited some farmers had problems with the different sizes of his cows. Especially in old tie up stables the boxes are too small and the cow get dirty, but that problem can easily be fixed by using longer rubber mats, like many of them had done. free stall stables, which we visited, were only some couple of years old, so the farmers hadn't any problems with too small boxes. But the cows had problems with laying down or standing up because of seperation bars. It wasn’t possible for the cow to do it in a naturally way. Average box in Finland: High: 1.15; Length: 2.35; Wide: 1.10 Seperation bars: Most used material of separation bars in Finland is metal, which is galvanize against roast. Shape of the bars are rounds that animal can lean safely to it without getting hurt. R-model is also most used modell in Finland,especially in free stables, but older stables use also U-modell. What we have seen in Austria, wooden separation bars could be very good alternative in Finland. Litter material: In Finland most common litter material is sawdust. But when we are talking about sawdust here in Finland, that material can be also wood curl, what is very dry and little bit rougher material than sawdust. Straw and peat are also much used litter materials, but mostly mix-used with other materials, example peat-sawdust-mix is very good combination. We have much forest-industry here in Finland what produce sawdust and it is waste to them, so farmers can get it even without pay. Couple of years ago came 25-40 kg sawdust-bales, bales are easier to handle and transport. Farmers knows well what kind danger wet sawdust can be for health. Straw: Straw is also good and cheap litter material. Straw is good to be fined that it absorbs moisture and usual it is mixed with peat or sawdust. Peat comes from swamps, and here in Finland we have much those. Peat isn’t so cheap material, one farmers said that he pays 7 euros/m3, but of course transport effects to the price much. Peat is very good litter material when we are looking at udder health, because it is already so acid, it prevent bacteria growing. But peat is very dusty and dirty material, so it is most used mixed with sawdust or straw. In Finland rubber on concrete is the most common bottom material in the boxes, but there are still free stall stables and tie up stables without any special bottom material, only concret. Farmers have noticed what kind of damages hard floor causes to the cow, so they begin to think about soft bottom material in their stables. Very soft rubbermatts are rare yet, but they are comming, like rubbermatts on the walking area too. In Finland there are not so much waterbeds and deep straw boxes like in Austria and Holland.
We have seen farms with deep straw bedding. The cows on these farms looked very happy and comfortable. Problems on these farms can be the contagious of diseases. Diseases and cow problems can spread very easily. One of the farmers said he didn’t have many problems and was not using antibiotics more than a year. The secret behind this, he says:” You have to make sure that the cows are in a dry stable”. They take all the manure out of the barn ones a year. The manure is very good quality and they can even sell it for a good price. Our general idea about these sorts of farm is very good, if you look at cow comfort and housing. We also saw farms with an old fashion tie-up stable. These stables have some disadvantages for the cow comfort. In these stables we saw that trough the years the cows become bigger, but the boxes are still the same. The cows stand on one place for a long time every year. We think it’s very important that you should think about cow comfort. At one tie-up farm the farmer had a very good solution for the small boxes. He put about 20 cm of wood extra behind the cows and moved the rubber mats backwards. So you can adjust the size of your box to the size of your cattle. In tie up stables many cows were injured at the back legs but in this kind of stable the sizes of the boxes are the biggest problems. Another kind of farm is the free stall stable. This is the most common kind of farm in Holland. Almost all the farmers that we have spoken with have a farm like this and are very happy with it. In this kind of stable you have a lot of different types of boxes and box material. With the hygiene we saw no obviously problems. The farmers also said that they don’t have any problems with mastitis. If the boxes are clean all the time and there is always fresh litter material in the hygiene is no problem. The farmers spend a lot of time for cleaning the boxes and for putting in fresh litter material. (Up to 4 times 10 minutes a day). The flying seperation bar is very popular at the moment. We have seen them especially at the newer farms. The big advantage of this box is that the material stays good for many years. And the cows can lay down very easy and comfortable. We also talked a bit about the prizes of boxes with farmers. Almost all the farmers say that you should invest in cow comfort. That is because your cows make your income, and the better they feel the better they will do. We have also spoken with farmers that made it all very cheap and they will never do it again. They say that in de beginning it will save you money but in the end it will cost you. Why farmers choose for a sure ten box really depends on what the farmers think about the importantly of cow comfort. Farmers that are really busy working with cow comfort will soon build a good quality box for the cows. Wile other farmers want boxes that are not too expensive and for instant very easy to keep clean. As you probably know there is also a lot of choose in box material ( on the floor). On the farms we visit the most common was the cow mattres. Those are mattresses made of very soft material with most of the time a rubber top layer. In Holland there is a very big market for cow mattresses and mats. So for farmers it’s a lot of work to find out what the perfect box is for there farm. That why we think that the most important thing to do when you build new boxes. Is to talk with as many people as you can an to go to a lot of different company’s. We found out that farmers are getting better and better in cow comfort and we think as a group that it going the right way. And we have to make sure that the positive line is continuing.
Page updated 23.5.2006 |
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