Floor comfort
Evaluation
The cut-off values suggested are based on recommendations in Sweden. Find out which recommendations apply in your country.
-
Cows with sole haemorrhage (last 12 months)
Reduce prevalence by at least 20% annually on the basis of the current percentage in the herd to finally reach the target level.
5% or less
10% or more
-
Cows with sole ulcers (last 12 months)
Reduce prevalence by at least 20% annually on the basis of the current percentage in the herd to finally reach the target level.
2.5% or less
5% or more
-
Cows that have fallen and been injured
Does not occur
Occurs repeatedly
For best results
-
Use rubber mats on both solid and slatted floors.
-
Prioritised areas for rubber mat installation are:
- Pre-milking holding pen
- Holding/waiting pen for AMS
- Feeding alley at the feeding table or feed stalls
-
When installing rubber mats, it is important to ensure that:
- Have room for expansion to prevent the mat from bubbling.
- The mat must be properly anchored.
-
Combine a rubber mat on a slatted surface with a manure robot or scraper.
-
Smooth transition from soft to hard ground especially for freshening heifers.
Tips!
-
More yielding rubber mats provide better friction. They are therefore less slippery than harder rubber mats.
-
The thickness of rubber mats affects durability. As a guide, the mat should be at least 2 cm thick.
-
Keep primiparous in a prioritised group with rubber mats when they are introduced to the dairy cow hosing in order to ease the transition to a harder surface.
-
It is useful if the surfaces of the walking areas in the cow housing are abrasive enough to cause a certain amount of wear on the hooves.
-
Test whether the passageways are slippery by taking a run-up and try to slide along as if on ice. If you can slide at all, it is too slippery for the cows. Also try in holding pens, driving passages and crosswalks.
-
Observe the cows to see whether there is any caudal licking or scratching behind their ears. This usually means that they are standing on three legs to groom themselves, signalling that they feel secure on the surface on which they are standing.
-
Natural behaviours such as showing heat are promoted by soft flooring.