Wide cubicles ≠ dirty cubicles

The adversary of a clean lying area is a cow lying or standing diagonally

→ faeces and urine are deposited in the cubicle

On the average in the past 25 years our dairy cows have gotten 11 cm bigger and their body mass has increased by 20 % ¹⁾

→ They need more space in the cattle house!

Optimal cubicles for lying times of 12 hours and more:

• no overstocking → better: a few more cubicles than cows!

• soft, dry lying area

• lying area sufficiently wide and long

• enough head space

• well-positioned control devices (neck rail, brisket board)

The length of the cubicle determines whether the cow will lie down straight or diagonally. Also important: sufficient head space and well-positioned neck rail!

Ratio between length and width ²⁾

Cows need head space ²⁾

Take social behaviour into consideration!

With head-to-head cubicles: if possible, lower ranking animals keep a distance from higher ranking ones → with too little headspace, the cows will lie down diagonally

Generally: shiny bars are a bad sign for too much cow contact!

Sources:

1) Rudolphi B.: "Klasse statt Masse”, 2008

2) Dr. Cook: "Mehr Platz schaffen!”, Elite 5, 2014

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