Flexible cubicle partitions are an innovation designed to offer cows greater lying comfort. This project will investigate how flexible cubicle partitions affect cows' lying, resting, and standing behavior. Labor-related aspects will also be examined.
An optimally designed lying area allows animals to lie down and stand up in a species-appropriate manner and to rest comfortably, thus creating the conditions for health, well-being, and high performance. A properly functioning lying box should guide the animal when standing up and lying down, but should not hinder its natural resting behavior.
This project compares flexible and rigid cubicle partitions . The following sub-goals are being pursued:
- Investigation of the preference distribution between the cubicle systems (frequency of use, lying time per cubicle type)
- Validation of a sensor system for recording cubicle occupancy
- Recording lying behavior with different cubicle partitions
- Determining the cleanliness of cubicles with flexible cubicle partitions and the practicality of these partitions
- Development of recommendations for the practical use of flexible cubicle partitions
The investigations are being conducted in the dairy barn of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein organic farming institute at Moarhof. This is a free-stall barn with an open, cubette-style design, in which 30 dairy cows have access to 30 deep-bedded cubicles with straw-manure mattresses. An ultrasonic sensor system is used for the automatic recording of cubicle occupancy.
