Winter housing can be a costly time on farm but preparing and implementing a plan allows your cattle to perform to their maximum. Cow Signals is the concept of reading cow behaviour to identify areas for improvement in their surroundings or routine. Whilst originally developed for dairy units, many of the principles can be applied to beef units too. This concept enables farmers to meet their cows’ needs, leading more closely to increased production and lower costs. Cow Signals revolves around six freedoms: feed, water, light, air, rest and space.
FEED
Ensure cows have access to fresh, accurately mixed feed. Healthy cows eat 10-12 times a day for 30-45 minutes, totalling an eating time of 6 hours. NWF can provide guidelines on feed barrier measurements to ensure cows can reach the feed easily. More space will lead to a higher feed intake; large Holsteins should have 75cm of feed space per cow. When feed space is short, increasing push ups to 10 times per day will benefit the heifers, quiet or lame cows in the herd. With the most important push up being 45 minutes to 1 hour after feed-out once the dominant cows have had their fill. Emma Vance, who has a robot herd in Dumfries and Galloway, increased the number of push ups they provide to one per hour after a cow signals workshop. Emma said, “The change has been brilliant, cows dry matter intake from forage increased and milk yield followed with the biggest difference seen in the heifers”.
LIGHT
Sufficient light for lactating animals can increase feed intake and encourage heat signals. 16 – 18 hours light (>200 lux) with 6 – 8 hours dark (<50 lux) is recommended for lactating animals with the opposite for dry cows.
AIR
The air should be as fresh as outside the shed. Wet floors, mattresses, cobwebs and condensation are all signs of a lack of ventilation.
WATER
Over 85% of milk is water, so accessibility is paramount for milk yield. Water should be fresh, and troughs cleaned out regularly. The number of cows per trough, trough height, water depth and speed of refill are just as important.
REST
The optimum lying time for health and production in a 24 hour period is 14 hours. To achieve this, cubicles need to be of the correct design so that cows can enter, stand and lie squarely in them, and have adequate lunge room when standing. The difference between 9 hours lying time and 14 hours is an extra litre of milk production for each extra hour (Grant, 2003), with 30% more blood circulating through the udder.
SPACE
Does your shed have adequate room for passing cows around water troughs, cow brushes, feed barriers and outer parlours? To minimise stressful events, nothing should prevent cows from having access to food, water or a bed (no dead-end alleys). Cows should be able to socialise and exhibit signs of heat without problems and walk securely on a non-slippery floor.