Behaviour and leg injuries in dairy cows kept in cubicle systems with straw bedding or soft lying mats

In order to reduce straw input, soft lying mats are used increasingly inste ad of straw bedding in cubicle systems for dairy cows. This study aimed at comparing different types of soft lying mats with straw bedding regarding c ow behaviour and leg injuries. Data were collected on five farms with straw bedding and on 13 farms using four types of soft lying mats consisting of different materials. On each farm, lying behaviour of 10 cows was recorded automatically during 3 days by means of a pneumatically operated resting se nsor fitted in a belt. In addition, standing up and lying down behaviour of cows was quantified by direct observations, and all cows on a given farm w ere checked once for leg injuries. There were no significant differences between cows kept in cubicle systems with soft lying mats and straw bedding regarding the total time spent lying per day and the number of lying bouts per day. Standing up and lying down behaviour also did not differ between cows with access to soft lying mats a nd straw bedding. Leg injuries were most frequent in the carpal and tarsal joints. Cows kept in cubicle systems with soft lying mats had a significant ly higher incidence of both hairless patches more than 2 cm in diameter (P < 0.001) and scabs or wounds less than 2 cm in diameter (P < 0.001) located in the tarsal joints than cows in cubicle systems with straw bedding. With the carpal joints, on the other hand, the incidence of leg injuries did no t differ significantly between these two housing conditions. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that soft lying mats are equivalent to straw bedding in terms of cow behaviour but less favourable with respect to leg injuries located in the tarsal joints. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.