Management of the dry and transition periods of dairy cattle in free stall housing systems in Lower Saxony. Part 1: Farm management

Objective: Describing husbandry and management of dairy cows during the dry and transition periods on farms of different sizes in Lower Saxony, Germany. Material and methods: A total of 51 dairy farms were visited and asked via questionnaire about the husbandry and management in the following categories: general operating data, stable and husbandry of milking cows, dry cows, transition cows and the youngstock, pasture management, feeding, health data and prophylactic treatments. In addition, during a farm inspection, data on cow comfort were collected. Results: German Holstein was the predominant breed on the dairy farms. Most cattle were kept in three rowed free-stall housing systems (74%) with straw bedding (47%) without division in productivity groups (59%). The dry cows were most frequently separated in two groups (68%) in free-stall housing systems (68%). The heifers were similarly mainly kept in free-stall housing systems (67%) and were mostly separated according to their reproductive status (74%). On 29% of the farms, pasture grazing was not practiced at any time. On 80% of the farms, cows were fed a mixed ration with computerized concentrate supplementation and on 68% of the farms biphasic dry cow diets were used. The most frequently stated health problems were of the limb and claw (61%). Prophylaxis of ketosis was practiced on 21% of the farms and milk-fever prophylaxis on 12% of the farms, both for each individual cow around calving. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Husbandry and management on farms differ widely and are still in need of optimization with respect to barn concepts, implementation of production groups and feeding, as well as veterinary consultation with respect to health problems and prophylactic measures.