Behavior of Cows in the Lying Area When the Exit Gates in the Pens Are Opened: How Many Cows Are Forced to Get Up to Go to the Milking Parlor?

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In barns that use milking parlors, cows walk from their pens to the milking area at least twice a day. A question can be raised: In what position are the cows at the moment of opening the exit gate in the pen, before going to the milking parlor? Is it a standing or lying position? When the cow is lying down, she must stop this activity. The forced break from lying can be considered in terms of cow welfare. The study compared the number of cows lying down when the exit gates opened in four pens over a period of 26 days. A greater number of lying cows were found before leaving for morning milking compared to afternoon milking. More cows were lying on the stalls with a lower level of sand compared to a higher level of sand. For comparisons between animals, an index of forced standing up of cows has been proposed. The results of the research may be an inspiration to identify solutions that will reduce the forceful getting up of cows. Such solutions include milking cows with a voluntary milking system instead of a milking parlor. ABSTRACT: Equipping a farm with a milking parlor requires moving groups of cows from their pens to the part of the barn where milking takes place. The task of moving cows, carried out two or three times each day, shows links to the lying area of the barn. When the cows are taken from the pen to the milking parlor, some of them may be lying down, and this lying down must be interrupted. The forced standing up of cows can be considered in terms of their welfare. The aim of the study was to examine the number of cows lying in the stalls at the time of opening the exit gates in the pens in order to take the cows to the milking parlor. The study covered four pens, each with 12 cows. The behavior of the cows in the pens before morning and afternoon milking was recorded over 26 days. In the analysis, the dependent variable was the number of lying cows, and the independent variables were the time of milking and the level of sand in the lying stalls. The results of the study showed the significance of differences in the number of lying cows for stalls with a low and high level of sand, both in the case of morning and afternoon milking. Differences in the number of lying cows were also found when comparing the time before morning and afternoon milking. To compare the tendency of individual cows to lie down before going to milking, an index of forced standing up was proposed. The research conducted showed differences in the behavior of cows before leaving the pen to the milking parlor. The stage to reduce the forced standing up of cows is to equip the farm with an automatic milking system (AMS) instead of using a milking parlor. In barns with AMS, cows have full freedom to get up and approach the milking stall. The results of the observations are thus an additional argument confirming the benefits of using an automatic milking system, considered in terms of the welfare of dairy cows, regarding their lying down and getting up.