The effects of surface type on lying behaviour and stress responses of dairy cows during periodic weather-induced removal from pasture

In some dairy cow grazing systems, during wet weather, the cows are removed from the pasture to a separate area for most of the day, in order to minimise treading damage to the soil. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of four surfaces commonly used for this "stand-off" procedure, in terms of cow lying behaviour, bodyweight, dirtiness, locomotion, and faecal concentrations of stress-induced hormones. In a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square design, 32 non-lactating Friesian cows were allocated in groups of four to either a specially constructed wood chip pad, a concrete yard, a gravel-surfaced farm laneway or a small paddock. The cows were held on the stand-off areas for 4 days, apart from a 3 It period each day spent grazing at pasture. Both the farm laneway and the small paddock became extremely muddy. The total time spent lying per day was greater (P < 0.001) for cows on the wood chip pad (11.9 h), than for cows on the concrete yard (7.0 h), farm laneway (5.7 h), or small paddock (6.9 h). These effects were driven by differences in the frequency of lying down on the stand-off surfaces, as there were no treatment effects on mean lying bout duration during standoff. Cows on stand-off treatments where lying was reduced attempted to compensate by lying down to a greater extent during the 3 h period at pasture. Cows on the concrete yard had lower bodyweights and higher faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations at the end of the 4-day stand-off period than cows on the wood chip pad and the small paddock. Similarly, cows on the concrete yard had a reduced gait length at the end of the stand-off period compared with cows on the farm laneway and the small paddock. The cows on the wood chip pad were less dirty than cows on the other surfaces. These results highlight the importance of providing a well drained and comfortable surface for cows to rest upon during periodic weather-induced removal from the pasture. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.