Free Stall Dairy Farm

Intensive dairy farm barns and free stall concept based on animal comfort and welfare to have sustainable and profitable farming with happy and healthy cows.

Free stall concept

A free stall shed is essentially a feed table with the addition of specific bedding areas for the stock to lie down. It is generally a covered shed and may include a loafing area for cattle to also be loose housed where they can stand, ruminate or idle. In these sheds each cow is provided with a stall which she may enter and leave at will.
When well designed and managed, free stalls provide the ideal system for intensively managing dairy cows off pasture as each animal is provided with a specific place to rest, their management (feeding, cleaning and relaxing) is potentially optimized and the system can operate efficiently with minimal labor and efficient. However, they are relatively expensive to construct and can become very unprofitable if stock suffers from poor welfare, animal health and milk quality due to poor feeding and herd management.

Although simple yard and a shade or yard and bedded shed systems are entirely satisfactory in warm climates, particularly in semi-arid areas, some farmers may prefer intensive system somewhat more protection and keep more cows in a smaller barn. A loose housing yard and shed with free stalls is an option for that. Less bedding will be required and less manure will have to be removed.

Size matters

Free stalls must be of the right size and bars adjusted in order to keep the animals clean on the one hand and to reduce injuries to a minimum on the other hand. When stalls are too small, injuries to teats will increase and the cows may also tend to lie in other areas that are less clean than the stalls. I can also cause leg problems because it is difficult to squeeze in the cubicles and to get up. If the stalls are too large, cows will get dirty from manure dropped in the stall and more labor will be expended in cleaning the shed area.

Stalls must allow enough room for the largest cow to freely enter the stall, lie down, rest comfortably and easily get to her feet to exit the stall. To do this, stalls should take into account the cow’s normal desire to rest facing uphill slightly, change resting positions or stretch while lying down. In addition, cows need to lunge forward to lift their hind quarters first when rising.

Free Stall Cow Cubicle

Free stalls are then individual cow bedding cubicles where partitions orientate stock for comfort and sanitation, providing each cow with a dry and comfortable place to lie down and rest and ruminate. Stall sheds should have one cubicle for each lactating cow. Some farmers provide additional stalls to allow for herd growth and to provide areas for subordinate animals to move away from more aggressive herd mates.

Stalls can be arranged in a single row or in more than one row cubicles with a central feeding alley or with feeding alleys along the sidewalls. They can be arranged with cows facing one another (head-to-head) or the other way around (tail-to-tail). With the tail-to-tail arrangement, a central cow alley, 2.2 m wide between the cubicles is needed. If the stalls are head-to-head, two cow alleys behind each row are necessary. Usually, one of these alleys is combined with the feed alley. Free stalls are usually laid out in modules with crossovers providing access to the feeding alley. These can provide multiple routes between cubicles and feeding area and so minimize the adverse effects that dominant stock can have on eating behavior of submissive stock.

Stall dimensions should be based on the largest 25% of the herd to allow for an increase in cow size through improved feeding and genetics over time. They should also provide for adequate lying down as well as necessary forward and sideways lunging to stand.
Stall cubicles that are too long or wide allow the animal to move forward, in which case faces and urine can be deposited within the stall and not in the alley way. To further prevent cows from soiling the cubicles, shoulder and neck rails are needed to force cows backwards when they stand up.
The stall curb separates the stall area from manure in the walk way. It should be high enough to prevent manure from entering the stalls, but low enough to allow cows to enter and exit the stalls easily. Recommended maximum curb heights are 20 cm or, if a mattress or mat is used, 30 cm.

A bar placed across the top of the free stalls will prevent the cow from moving too far forward in the stall for comfortable lying down movements, and it will encourage her to take a step backwards when standing so that manure is dropped outside the stall. The bar must, however, not interfere with her normal lying and rising movements. In organic dairy, cows should be grazed when soil and weather conditions allow it part of the day.

Cow Bedding

The condition of the bedding is most important to encourage cow use of the stalls. The free stall base and bedding should provide a comfortable conforming surface to cushion the cow as she drops to a resting position or while resting. When cows are forced to lie on hard surfaces, they do not lie down for long, are more unsettled and may develop knee and hock lesions and swelling. All base types need loose bedding material on top for further cushioning, moisture absorption and to reduce friction. If the stall base provides good cushioning, less bedding is needed on top.

To be comfortable, the base and bedding layers should cushion the contact areas for hock, knees, hips, brisket and shoulders. It is best to provide cushioning using a thick layer (15 to 20 cm) of bedding on a firm base or by an intermediate layer, cushioning mat or mattress and 3 to 6 cm of bedding with minimum 42% elasticity .

Rubber mats are common and can vary in thickness for <10 mm to >25 mm. The thicker the rubber mat, the greater its degree of flexibility minimum 42% (and presumably comfort) for the cow when she lies down. Mattresses are made by containing a resilient fill material such as crumb rubber, foam or liquid with a woven polyethylene or felt-type geotextile textile material.

Bedding and Mattresses

Hard rubber mats provide little cushioning, particularly if very thin and may be slippery. Soft rubber mats provide the same features as mattresses. Attachments methods, surface texture and compaction of the mat or mattress material are all issues to consider when selecting and installing mats or mattresses. Bedding is required on top of mattresses and mats to help to maintain clean dry conditions.
In addition to preventing injury and providing comfort for cows, free stall bases should only require minimum maintenance. Materials used for bases vary from stone-free earth fill, available on site, to sand, to concrete. Earth fill requires the most maintenance as cows getting up and down will disturb and hollow out the surface. It is essential to select a material which does not contain stones or other solid particles that can be kicked into walkways, potentially causing injury or discomfort to cows’ hooves. Sand is the most favored bedding as it reduces pressure on the joints, distributes weight over the area and provides unparalleled traction.

Managing cow barns

Manure and wet bedding should be removed and replaced with dry bedding material each day. Cleaning should be frequent enough to keep the back of the stall clean because this is where the cow’s udder and teats are in contact with the bedding when she lies down. Organic bedding should be added every 1-3 days, especially on mattresses and rubber mats, as it is hard to keep bedding on these surfaces.
Dirty cow alleys will result in dirty beds and udders, weakened hoof horn and potential mastitis. Cow and feed alleys should be kept clean by manual scraping, automatic scrapers or flood washing. Although cows can still be in their stalls, it is better to time the food washing during milking when they are away from the shed.

Care should be taken to ensure the stall construction or installation does not interfere with either the natural movements of the rising and reclining cows or the ventilation of the shed. Consider the effects of the stall structure on air flow at low level. For example, using smaller dimensional steel rather than larger wooden planks when constructing the stalls can result in more open areas for better ventilation.
The free stall environment should be made safe for the stock through ensuring they cannot put their heads through gates and fences or get stuck under stall divisions and barriers. There should be no projections, such as broken boards or rails or rough, sharp edges on the concrete. Rails should be strong enough not to break when cows lean on them.

Cow Walking alleys and surfaces

Walking surfaces can be grooved to minimize slips and falls and so encourage normal estrus activity. The free stall facility should be designed to ensure smooth and quiet cow flow. There should be no sudden changes from light to dark, reflections or drains across the cow alleys. Cows will move more smoothly along curved races, up a slight incline and where they have “sure” footing. Gates could be muffled by attaching rubber strips to prevent excessive noise. Yards must be designed for easy drafting of targeted cows. Stock should only be moved around using “flappers” (leather strips attached to a cane, sometimes known as cattle talkers) rather than using wooden or metal pickets or pipes. Excessive twisting of an animal’s tail is unacceptable and electric prods should only be used in emergencies.

Proper selection of stall dimensions, partition, design, stall base type and bedding material are essential in encouraging their daily use but regular management and maintenance are necessary to assure clean, comfortable cows. Check stalls at least three times daily (at milking and feeding), remove manure and wet material and rearrange bedding, if necessary, to provide a uniform surface. Adding large amounts of bedding material less frequently can lead to increased bedding waste after filling which can reduce cow comfort and lead to undesirable cow positioning prior to the next bedding application

As organic bedding can more readily support bacterial contamination than inorganic material, they should be replaced more frequently, with soiled organic material removed from the rear third of the stall every day. The first step a cow makes into the stall is near the place the udder and teats will come in contact with as she settles down into a resting position. The regular cleaning of walkways can reduce manure tacked into the stall surface. Depending on the frequency of milking and on the movement of the cows, cleaning the walkways up to three times a day can be appropriate. The number of stalls should correspond with the number of animals housed.

Young stock may be held in yards with shade or in sheds with either free stalls or deep bedding. The alley behind the free stalls (cubicles) must be wide enough to allow the cows smooth passage. When cows are eating, two cows must be able to pass each other. The larger the cows are, the more space they need to lay down and pass.

Monitoring free stall use

The cow is the final inspector of free stalls and if cows are not successfully and regularly using them, or they are dirty and show signs of injury, action is required. There are a variety of ways to monitor the cows’ use of free stalls and free stall sheds, such as:

• Do cows appear comfortable when standing or lying? If not, stall dimensions and bedding may need attention.
• Do cows have to push, bang and/or bump against stall components to lie down, get up or change positions?
• Do cows lie backwards in the stalls or in the alleys?
• Do cows stand half in or half out of the stalls? This can occur when the stalls are too short, the neck rail is too far back or when the stalls are otherwise uncomfortable.
• Do cows stand in the stalls in an angular fashion? This indicates the stalls are too wide.
• Are all stalls used equally? If not, there would be a reason why some are not chosen by the cows.
• When cows normally rest (between 10 PM and 4 AM) are more than 20 to 30% of the herd standing in the stalls? If so, stall comfort may be questionable.
• Are cow’s udders, tails or hindquarters dirty? This could indicate dirty bedding but may also be due to low fiber diets and very loose manure.
• Are there patches of rubbed off hair or visible injuries to hocks and knees? These are signs that cows rub excessively on stall partitions or neck rails when rising or lying down.
• Cow comfort and stall standing indices; this is the % of cows in contact with a stall that are actually lying down or standing up
• Stall use index; this is number of cows within a pen that are lying down expressed as % of those not actively feeding
• The softness of the stall bedding can be assessed by the
  • Wet knee test, which involves kneeling in the stall for 10 seconds and if the knee is wet, the stall bedding is not dry enough.
  • Drop knee test, which involves crouching and then dropping to your knees in the stall. This will quickly tell you how truly comfortable the stalls are.

Tie-Stall Sheds

With tie stall systems, each cow is restrained in a separate stall. Feed is delivered in a trough in front of the cows. Milking usually takes place individually in the stall, by hand or machine, the latter using either a bucket or a pipeline system. Manure is collected in a gutter behind the stock. With cows tied up all year round, they can suffer from foot problems and become stiff.