CIRCULAR

172

CIRCULR 172NOVEMBER 1969

VALUE of NECK BOARD and BRISKET BOARD in FREE-STALL HOUSING for DAIRY CATTLE

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Agricultural Experiment A U BU RN
E. V. Smith, Director

Station
Auburn i, Alabama

UNIVERSITY

Value of Neck Board and Brisket Board
in Free-stall Housing for Dairy Cattle
H. F. YATES, Superintendent, Gulf Coast Substation L. A. SMITH, Superintendent, Black Belt Substation K. M. AUTREY, Professor of Dairy Science*

INTRODUCTION

INDIVIDUAL

FREE-STALL IIOUSJNG

of

dairy cattle was apparently

used for the first time in 1960 (3). Since then there has been widespread adoption of this method of housing dairy animals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Reasons for the adoption of the system in preference to loose housing and stanchion barn housing, as indicated by most researchers are: Cows stay cleaner; a 50-75 per cent saving in bedding is realized; less labor needed in cleaning cows and cleaning stalls; less injury and disease of udders; and timid cows have less competition with bossy animals. Although free-stall housing is gaining acceptance throughout the United States very little research has been done to determine the most suitable design. Schmisseur and co-workers at Purdue (7) did some studies to compare the free-stall arrangement with loose housing. They observed that cows prefer larger stalls if given a choice. Animals housed in free stalls are more individualistic in such behavior patterns as eating habits and this is an advantage for timid cows. 'Free-stall cows' rested less than 'loosehousing animals' (10.7 hr. per day to 12.3 hr.), and cows given a choice between the two housing types had to be trained to use free stalls. Schmisseur reported a British study in which it was concluded that cows tend to choose stalls nearest the door but have no individual stall preferences. Most recommendations on stall design by writers cited above suggested the following basic dimensions: Stall space per cow 30 square feet; width and length, small cows- 40 x 84 inches, large cows -48 x 96 inches; partition height -48 inches; curb height - 8 inches; alley width - 8-10 feet; neck board - 48-66 inches from curb; and brisket board (only one recommendation) - 66 inches from curb.
* On leave.

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FIG. 1. A few cows must be trained to use free stalls. preferred to rest in the contaminated alleyway.

One animal in this barn

FIG. 2 Cow in free stall. Note cleanliness of cow and condition of the bedding. Brisket board (BB) can be seen at the front of the stall.

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as bedding material. The bedding was levelled at weekly intervals and shavings added as needed about once each month. For a period of 6 weeks a record was made of the identification of cows occupying the stalls to determine whether there was a stall preference associated with individual cows. Also measurements were made of the length of each animal from foremost points of withers to extreme end of tail-head to determine whether cow size might affect stall preference. The cattle were mainly grade Holsteins. At the Black Belt Substation four free-stall arrangements were studied and nine stalls of each treatment were used. The stalls were assigned to treatments in a random manner and had the same basic dimensions of those in the experiment at the Gulf Coast Substation.' Treatments were: Control - no neck board (NB), no brisket board (BB); NB - 60 inches from curb and 39 inches from top level of shavings; BB - 52 inches from curb and 2 inches above bedding level when stalls were filled; and NB and BB -66 inches from curb. Cattle in this herd were of mixed breeding, some Jerseys and some grade Holsteins. Animals of Holstein breeding ranged from 1,000 to 1,400 pounds and Jerseys, of course, were smaller. Average cow size was somewhat less than in the Gulf Coast Substation herd. Wood shavings were used for bedding and levelled each 2-3 days. A record was made of manure droppings during a total of 18 days starting January 29, 1969. This information was obtained once daily about 8:00 a.m. during the experimental period. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The combined use of the NB and BB in a free stall resulted in a cleaner stall; i.e., fewer manure droppings than the other stall arrangements. Also, the NB helped prevent small cows from turning around in the stalls. Summary data are shown in Table 1. Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences among the treatments. The two most effective treatments were: BB 60 inches from curb - NB 60 inches from curb and BB 66 inches from curb - NB 60 inches from curb. Also, more effective than the control and those treatments with only NB or BB was
the BB 66 inches - NB 66 inches.

It is apparent that the spacings of the NB and BB are quite important. Though fewer data were collected on treatment 7
[6]

FIG. 3. This view of the free-stall barn at the Gulf Coast Substation shows the neck boards, which were installed 40 inches above the floor.

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[7]

to fall in the ally instead of the stall when the cow is standing. Likewise a BB helps prevent manure droppings in the stall when the cow is lying down. The data showed no evidence of stall preference by individual cows when animals had a choice. Also, there were no significant differences among treatments in average length of cows using the stall, Table 2, although the data indicated there was a slight tendency of larger cows to occupy stalls with no NB or BB, or to make more use of stalls with the greatest distance from curb to NB or BB. Range in body length was 54 inches - 64 inches (forewithers to tail-head).
TABLE 2. BODY LENGTH OF Cows USING VARIOUS
COAST SUBSTATION

STALL ARRANGEMENTS,

GULF

Treatment

Average body length Barn I Barn II West East West East In. 60.70 59.89 59.50 59.45 59.31 In. 60.30 60.53 59.70 59.44 60.36 59.35 60.55 In. 51.16 61.65 59.88 60.37 60.40 59.25 60.13

Mean of all In. 60.10 60.53 59.83 59.77 59.99 59.30 60.34

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Control NB, 66" BB, 66" NB, 66" NB, 60" NB, 60" NB, 72"

In. 60.26 from curb 60.05 60.26 from curb 59.84 - BB, 66"________________ - BB, 66"________________ 59.87 - BB, 60"________________ - BB, 72"____________

Two of the cows at the Gulf Coast Substation consistently refused to use the free stalls during the experiment. This may have been a result of the lack of extra stalls, although they were consistently the same animals. Most general recommendations call for providing about 5 per cent more stalls than actual number of cows in a barn. During a later period of extremely warm weather there were 6-8 cows that preferred to lie down in the alley which was moist and apparently cooler than the stalls. This problem emphasized the need for effective ventilation and air movement during warm summer periods. As in the Gulf Coast Substation research, the use of both NB and BB in free stalls proved superior to each separately and to the control in the experiment at the Black Belt Substation. The average numbers of stalls contaminated by manure droppings per day are shown in Table 8. The values in Table 8 are lower than those shown in Table 1, since in the Black Belt study no effort was made to count individual droppings, as was done in the Gulf Coast experiment.
[8]

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FIG. 4. Clean bedding in the stalls and litter in the alleyway can be seen clearly in this view of the free-stall barn at the Gulf Coast Substatian.

SUMMARY Results of these experiments clearly show that the use of both neck board and brisket board in free stalls helps keep the bedding free from manure contamination and to keep the cows clean, provided the boards are properly spaced. Optimum spacing of NB and BB depends on cow size, which varies among herds and within herds. However, these studies show that a satisfactory spacing for cows measuring about 60 inches from tail-head to forewithers (grade Holsteins) is NB 60 inches from inside curb and BB 60 inches from inside curb. For larger cows it would be best to have BB 66 inches inside the curb. These spacings resulted in very few droppings in the stalls and cleaner cows, compared with stalls with no NB or BB, or with greater space between curb and NB or BB. Although there were few Jerseys and Guernseys in these experiments, it appears that a NB spacing of 60 inches from curb and BB spacing 52 inches from curb is satisfactory for animals of the smaller breeds.

[10]

LITERATURE CITED
(1) ANONYMOUS. 1963. Lounging Units in Dairy Loose Housing Systems. Virginia Polytechnic Institute Agr. Ext. Ser. Cir. 928. (2) BATES, D. W. 1967. Convert to Free Stalls. Hoard's Dairyman.
(3)
ESTEP, ALLEN, WILLARD WINTERS, AND EVERETT DAVIs.

1962.

Loose

Stall Housing Construction and Management for Dairy Cattle. Washington State Univ. Agr. Ext. Ser. EM 2215. (4) HOLTZ, E. W., R. G. CURLEY, AND C. S. GOBLE~1966. Individual Stall Housing for Dairy Cattle. J. of Dairy Science, 49:747. (5) JORDAN, D. C. AND O. J. TRENARY. 1968. Dairy.Cattle Housing and Facilities. Intermountain Regional Publication 2.

(6)

PARSONS, G. S. AND J. D. GEORGE.

1964. Tregd Toward Free Stall

Housing in North Carolina. J. of Dairy Science, 47:345. (7) SCHMISSEUR, W. E. et al. 1966. Animal Behavior Responses to Loose and Free Stall Housing. J. of Dairy Science, 49:102. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge the work and assistance of Tom Eagar, Department of Agricultural Engineering, in helping design the free stall barns, and Ronnie McDaniel, Assistant Superintendent, Gulf Coast Substation, for assistance in carrying out the study at that station.

[ tl ]

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SYSTEM OF ALABAMA'S LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITY

With an agricultural
research unit in every major soil area, Auburn
-

Uiersity serves the needs of field crop, livestock, forestr, and horticultural producers in each region in Alabama. Every citizen of
the State has a stake in this research program,

0
F,
,-

r

since any advantage
from new and more

economical wa's of producing and handling farm products directly benefits the consuming public.

Research Unit Identification

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

Tennessee Volley Substation, Belle Mina. Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville. North Alabama Horticulture Substation, Cullman. Upper Coastal Plain Substation, Winfield. Forestry Unit, Fayette County. Thorsby Foundation Seed Stocks Farm, Thorsby. Chilton Area Horticulture Substation, Clanton. Forestry Unit, Coosa County. Piedmont Substation, Camp Hill. Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee. Forestry Unit, Autauga County. Prattville Experiment Field, Prattville. Black Belt Substation, Marion Junction. Tuskegee Experiment Field, Tuskegee. Lower Coastal Plain Substation, Camden. Forestry Unit, Barbour County. Monroeville Experiment Field, Monroeville. Wiregrass Substation, Headland. Brewton Experiment Field, Brewton Ornamental Horticulture Field Station, Spring Hill. Gulf Coast Substation, Fairhope.