The behaviour of cows in response to rubber mats in milking parlour stalls

Absztrakt

Lameness in cattle is a major health problem, because the disease causes substantial pain and discomfort and lasts for a lengthy amount of time. One of the ways to give cows more relief from hard surface is allowing them to walk on the softer flooring. This kind of surface is commonly used in the cubicles and walkways. Cows spend a relatively long time in the milking parlour and are at risk of damaging their hooves by contact to hard and slippery surfaces. Introducing rubber mats in the milking parlour is integration in the environment which is well known to animals. As a reaction to a novel object this can cause a disturbance of every day habits. Rubber mats, as a softer surface can cause a competition for a desired resource and then increase of aggressive behaviours within the animal. The objective of this research was to evaluate cows’ response to rubber mats introduced in the milking parlour stalls. The observation was focused on measuring the changes in time taken to fill parlour stalls. Saving in time was predicted to be the main benefit of introducing the mats, the second measurement estimated changes in aggressive behaviour. The ethogram included the observation of pushing and head butting was performed to estimate the occurrence of aggressive behaviours in the waiting area just before entering the stalls. Results from this study provide evidence to suggest that introducing the rubber mats decreased time taken to fill parlour stalls. There was a very significant decrease in the time taken to fill those stalls with mats than the stalls without rubber mats present. The difference in time required to fill parlour stalls between the last and the first week of the research indicated a saving in time of 40.33 (confidence limits 31.31 - 49.34) seconds per milking. There was no significant difference in occurring pushes and head butts between sides with rubber mats and without rubber mats, however, there was an increase in aggressive behaviour during the study. In conclusion, it is presumed that due to the rubber flooring cows were more excited and motivated to fill parlour stalls quicker whether mats were present or not. Using the rubber mats is a benefit in saving time and giving relief to cows’ hooves without compromising animal welfare.