BEHAVIOR OF DAIRY-COWS IN A STRAW YARD IN RELATION TO LAMENESS

Lying down and other behavioural activities of dairy cows were studied for three 24-hour periods in a straw yard. The cows spent a total of 13.6 hours in the straw yard and lay down for 9.7 hours. The lying dow n time in one observation was 10.8 hours and this period may be consid ered ideal because there was little disturbance during that observatio n. Significantly more time was spent lying down at night than in the d ay and significantly more time was spent lying down and ruminating tha n standing up and ruminating. The total time spent lying down was sign ificantly positively correlated with the time spent lying down and rum inating. Ten hours or more spent lying down may be adequate for proper rest in dairy cattle. Straw yards are better than many cubicles for l ying and a longer period spent lying down may be important for the pre vention of lameness in dairy cows.