Cubicle comfort
Evaluation
The cut-off values suggested are based on recommendations in Sweden. Find out which recommendations apply in your country.
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Knee drop test of lying place
Knee drop test: Stand in the lying place, bend your knees slightly and then drop to your knees.
Comfortable
Causes pain
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Cows standing in the cubicles
Assess at a calm timepoint. Count how many cows are lying or standing in the cubicles. The percentage of cows in the cubicle that are standing in the cubicle is then calculated.
10% or less
20% or more
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Cows lying with any body part outside of the cubicle
Count how many of the cows lying down have any body part outside (the tail is not counted, but a leg outside or an udder resting on the edge is counted).
5% or less
20% or more
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Injured cows
Defined as wounds, swelling and/or reddened/thickened skin. Injuries smaller than half a palm of the hand are not counted unless the cow has several small injuries that collectively form an area equivalent to the size of a whole palm or more.
Less than 10%
20% or more
For best results
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Create conditions to allow the cows to lie down for at least 12 hours a day.
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Make sure there is at least one cubicle per cow, counting only the cubicles that are used by the cows.
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Sufficiently large cubicles with lunge space in front to allow the cow to stand up and lie down unhindered (adjust the dimensions to match those shown in the illustration below).
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The design and limitations of the cubicle must not risk harming the cow.
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Good environment in the cubicle
- Avoid cold air draughts close to the animals
- Dry and clean
- Soft and even lying area (see Knee drop test in Tip and Evaluation)
Tips!
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Perform a knee drop test to feel what the cows are experiencing. Stand in the lying place, bend your knees slightly and then drop to your knees. This will give you a good idea of the softness, friction and dryness of the surface.
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Look out for shiny metal, i.e. metal barriers (such as cubicle dividers) that are polished by cows rubbing against the barriers when they lie down, stand up, lie down or reach out for something.