Maria Yaroshko, MBA Magister

Many dairy farms in Ukraine have turned away from tie-stall housing system or gradually changing to loose housing system. The latter occurs mainly in two forms: keeping cows in deep-bedded units or free stalls. Under these conditions cows are easy to move inside the barn and in a pasture. It improves their health and makes it possible to increase the mechanization of production processes in the barn, such as: milking, cleaning, distribution of feed. Energy costs are reduced significantly together with labor costs, and animals feel better.

From tie- to free-stall housing system

When we relocate dairy cows to free-stall housing, it’s important to remember that changing environment is stressful for them. It is connected with free contact among animals in a herd, defining social status and new behavior, microclimate changing and production processes. This is the biggest challenge for calm high-yielding cows that need to consume more feed and have enough time for rest and rumination. Quite often cows experience changes in social order and can’t provide normal environment. As a result, stress and changes in the maintenance have negative impact on their health, and this leads to production loss.

Read more details in the magazine “Milk and Farm” № 1 (20), February, 2014.