Effects of short-term repeated exposure to different flooring surfaces on the behavior and physiology of dairy cattle

Dairy cattle managed in some pasture-based systems such as in New Zealand are predominantly kept outdoors all year around, but are often taken off pasture for periods of time in wet weather to avoid soil damage. It is common to keep cattle on concrete surfaces during such “stand-off” practices and we investigated whether the addition of rubber matting onto concrete areas improves the welfare of dairy cattle. Sixteen groups of 5 cows (4 groups/treatment, 5 cows/group) were allocated to 1 of 4 treatments (concrete, 12-mm-thick rubber mat, 24-mm-thick rubber mat, or deep-bedded wood chips) and kept on these surfaces for 18 h/24 h for 4 consecutive days (6 h on pasture/24 h). Each 4-d stand-off period was repeated 4 times (with 7 d of recovery between periods) to study the accumulated effects of repeated stand-off. Lying behavior was recorded continuously during the experiment. Gait score, stride length, hygiene score, live weight, and blood samples for cortisol analysis were recorded immediately before and after each stand-off period. Cows on wood chips spent the most time lying, and cows on concrete spent the least time lying compared with those on other surfaces [wood chips: 10.8 h, 24-mm rubber mat: 7.3 h, 12-mm rubber mat: 6.0 h, and concrete: 2.8 h/18 h, standard error of the difference (SED): 0.71 h]. Cows on concrete spent more time lying during the 6 h on pasture, likely compensating for the reduced lying during the stand-off period. Similarly, cows on concrete spent more time lying on pasture between stand-off periods (concrete: 12.1 h, 12-mm rubber mat: 11.1 h, 24-mm rubber mat: 11.2 h, and wood chips: 10.7 h/24 h, SED: 0.28 h). Cows on concrete had higher gait score and shorter stride length after the 4-d stand-off period compared with cows on the other surface types, suggesting a change in gait pattern caused by discomfort. Cows on rubber mats were almost 3 times dirtier than cows on concrete or wood chips. Cortisol and live weight decreased for all treatment groups during the stand-off period. We observed no major effect of the repeated stand-off exposure. In summary, adding rubber matting onto concrete surfaces for stand-off purposes is beneficial for animal welfare. A well-managed wood chip surface offered the best welfare for dairy cows removed from pasture, and the findings of this study confirm that a concrete surface decreases the welfare of cows removed from pasture.