Last week I had an hour to kill between appointments and I spent it observing cows in a top producing robot barn. I saw a lot of things done very well. What struck me most was the outstanding cow comfort. The facility was designed for comfort with cross ventilation and sand bedding, but more importantly, the cows behaved like comfortable cows. How do comfortable cows behave?
Perching half in and half out of the stalls was minimal. I have been in barns that made me wonder what percent of perching is acceptable. I have Googled it, but I haven’t found an answer. I have decided if there are enough cows perching for me to wonder if there are too many, then there are too many. Perching is an indication that cows are reluctant to lie down because they either know they won’t be comfortable, or know they will have trouble getting up again. Perching time takes away from lying time and eating time. Comfortable cows don’t perch.
The robot pens reminded me of what parlor pens look like 2 hours after the cows return from the parlor, when most of the cows are done eating and are resting and ruminating in the free stalls – but there was activity in this robot barn. There were cows moving to the robots and there were cows eating at the bunk. There was room for more cows to eat at the bunk, room for more cows to be milked, and room for more cows to lie in the stalls. Comfortable cows don’t have to wait for stalls or feed.
There is no shortage of research linking better cow comfort, and specifically more lying time, with higher production. One study showed an additional hour of lying time per day results in 3 ½ more pounds of milk. Another study suggests that if a cow loses 3 minutes of resting time, she will eat for 1 minute less. Those are not a good trades.
Lying time is even more important in a robot barn. Nobody likes to see a cow waiting for a robot. We all like to keep the robots full, but nobody likes a long line at the robot. We might be less aware of cows waiting for feed or cows waiting for stalls, but that is where waiting starts. If cows always have stalls and feed available, they will move to the robot when they are motivated. If a cow waits for a stall, because none are available or because the comfortable ones are all in use, her behavior has been altered and it will affect robot use. If a cow waits for a meal because the bunk is crowded or because there is no feed, her behavior has been altered and it will affect robot use.
Cow behavior is cyclical. Work with that cyclical behavior and not against it. Make sure cow comfort and bunk management work together to keep cows flowing to the robot.
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