Comfortable cows are profitable cows

Cow comfort needs to be at the centre of modern dairy herds, according to international expert in dairy cow behaviour and Lallemand Animal Nutrition Technical Support Manager – Ruminants, Dr Nico Vreeburg.

Speaking at this year’s ‘Meeting the genetics of the modern dairy cow’ seminar, Nico says cow comfort is the basis of health, productivity and long-term profitability.

“It doesn’t matter whether you run a low-input or a high-input system, you need to run a high production system,” he says. “No farming business anywhere in the world is going to survive by becoming smaller in the next 20 years.

“Everyone knows that peak production occurs from the fourth till the ninth lactation, but for example the average number of lactations completed in California, U.S. is just 1.9. No-one can afford to keep going like that. If you want to make money, then milk older cows and older cows have two things in common: they are healthy and stress-free.”

In an engaging presentation that spanned everything from ‘cow heaven’ to ‘UNOs’ (unexplained notable observations), Nico captivated the seminar with his anecdotes about the behaviour of cows and their human carers. “Every cow deserves the six freedoms of adequate feed, water, light, air, rest and space,” he says.

“Cow heaven is where the cow can walk to a bunk, have a feed without competition, have a drink on the way there and back, socialise with her friends for a while, lay down in a comfortable stall with plenty of room to rest and ruminate, and then walk stress-free to and from the parlour.”

Nico says the best was to gauge the comfort of your cows is simply to ask them. “Look at what your cows telling you because they’re always telling the truth,” he says.

“Her body language is telling you exactly what is happening inside her right now – and that’s a pretty good indicator of what’s about to happen in your milk vat in the next couple of days.

“Why are they eating what they are eating? Why are they standing where they are standing? Once you see what’s happening, you can begin to understand what’s happening and then you can do something about it.

“Body condition, rumen fill and belly fill are the first things you should always look for because they tell you what your cows ate last month, what they ate yesterday and what they ate eight hours ago.

“A cow is really just a rumen on four legs. If the rumen is not OK, the cow is not OK. You can ruin a cow in less than five days and the easiest way to do this is by constantly subjecting the rumen to changes in pH.

“Low rumen pH adversely impacts rumen bacteria and that’s why you need to take steps to protect them with probiotics, such as LEVUCELL SC, which keeps all those little fibre fermenters doing their job – and that means more DMI and more production.

“There is an old saying that every cow gets three rations. The first is what you prepare. The second is what gets delivered to the bunk. The third is what each cow actually eats. It’s completely true.

“If a cow can’t reach the feed in the trough, there’s no point feeding her. Can all cows eat at the same time? Is there always enough feed for every cow? Is there sufficient trough space? Are there any signs of sorting? Do you see any thin manure?

“The rumen has a capacity of about 200 litres. That’s a lot of rumen to fill but it’s your job to fill it. A rumen fill score of 1 is a cow’s ticket to McDonalds, except she’s going to be the one on the menu. If you see a cow with low rumen fill score, then you can guarantee she has a lot of friends just like her.

“A rumen fill score of 5 is never going to happen, so make sure rumen fill is always between 3 or 4. The goal is to deliver 21 to 26 kg of dry matter intake a day, ideally as 12 small meals to reduce acidosis challenge.”

Nico says the impact of water availability and quality is often overlooked. “Milk is 88% water, so you can never supply enough water,” he says. “It’s your cheapest input.

“A cow needs at least 140 L of water a day. Do all your cows have access to a source of fresh clean water without obstruction? How many cows can drink at any one time? Is there sufficient water pressure to quickly re-fill the trough?

“Dominant cows get to eat and drink when they want. Lower-ranked cows feed and drink when they can.

“If water quality is good and the cow is thirsty, she will put her head in the trough and drink 15 litres in 45 seconds. If she is licking at the water, then something’s wrong. You don’t want to drink dirty water and neither do your cows. A single teaspoon of manure in 100 megalitres can reduce water intake by 30%.

“The more troughs you install, the healthier your cows will be and the more milk they will produce. And you have to clean them. If you don’t like cleaning water troughs, then don’t milk cows.

“Again, look for the signs. If they drink more at the dairy, then you need to investigate the water quality of the water troughs in the paddock. If they drink more in the paddock, there’s something wrong at the dairy.”

Finally, Nico stressed the need for space to move around, socialise and rest. “Cows need to rest up to 14 hours a day and do this, they need space,” he says. “Every hour they aren’t resting and ruminating, you’re losing one litre of milk.

“Are your cows quiet, alert or active? Are there sufficient stalls? Are cows waiting in the alley? Are at least 90% of the cows in the stalls laying down at any one time? Are at least 70% of these cows ruminating?

“Can they stand square and lie straight in the stall? A cow needs every bit of 3.5 metres to stretch out in order to stand up. Many stalls are well short of this. Do the stall dividers have polish marks on them? Do cows have unexplained wounds and bumps? Is the bedding fresh? Nobody wants to sleep on a wet mattress.

“Can they walk around comfortably? Where is there crowding and why? Can they socialise? What are the places and moments that could cause stress? Can you see any unexplained notable observations or abnormal behaviour?”

If we want to meet the genetic potential of the modern dairy cow, all of these critical control points must be satisfied to support a comfortable, productive animal.

About the speaker:
Dr Nico Vreeburg is an international expert in dairy cow behaviour, barn design, process efficiency and the use of microbial solutions to optimise cow comfort, health and production. Nico worked as a dairy vet for 15 years before co-founding CowSignals, a private consultancy that provides training programs about cow comfort, health and sustainability. What started as a sideline passion quickly escalated into a global phenomenon that has provided training programs in more than 30 countries over the past 20 years. Nico joined Lallemand Animal Nutrition in 2021 as a Technical Support Manager and resides in the Netherlands.

Reference: 1. Bach, A. et al. (2006). Associations between non-dietary factors and dairy herd performance. J. Dairy Sci. 91:3259-3267.