Flooring In Dairy Cattle Facilities

Non traumatic flooring rather than slats.
Flooring in dairy cattle facilities. Hygiene genetics nutrition and facilities all play a role in prevention of digital dermatitis at all. When it comes to dairy facility flooring milking parlor owners must make sure their flooring system supports sanitation protocols in order to keep cows healthy and milk production hygienic. Whether milk tanker unloading areas chiller and storage rooms pasteurization and production rooms or even in the milking parlors themselves dairy processing facilities present ongoing slip. Cheese and dairy facilities have tough conditions for flooring.
Slip resistance and traction are especially important for the safety of facility personnel. Rubber flooring has been incorporated into both the processing chutes and in housing pens at this facility which vann says has worked well to reduce slippage and lameness issues associated with poor footing. About 23 of dairy cattle will be affected with lameness during their lifetime. Some practices can significantly reduce the problem while helping your dairy clients maintain cow performance.
Floors that do not conform to the specifications should not be accepted by the dairy producer. Use high quality concrete when making floors for livestock. It is designed to provide non slip flooring during animal handling. Concrete floors do not provide enough friction to allow natural locomotion behavior.
Puma crete dairy flooring is a seamless troweled urethane mortar developed for the dairy industry. At a minimum floors for dairy cattle need to provide a flat surface that uniformly supports cows weight. Cornell university ithaca new york. Additionally floors must provide confident footing for the cow so she can navigate around the barn without worrying about slipping and possibly going.
Proceeding from the animal behavior and the design of livestock and poultry systems international conference. Northeast regional agricultural engineering service. Flooring in dairy cattle facilities. References and additional information albright j l.
Concrete is relatively cheap and durable for use in livestock facilities but it is far from an ideal surface for cows to walk and stand upon especially when it is covered with manure slurry. Non slip flooring the flooring described in this article is designed for use in stockyards veterinary facilities truck loading pens ranch corrals feelot cattle handling systems and slaughter plants. Effects of varying the environment upon the performance of. For processing facilities grandin recommends interwoven tire mats such as those produced by double d cattle mats out of park kansas.
These include thermal shock corrosion damp conditions heavy impact and traffic. This way even pressure is exerted over the entire bearing surface of a cow s hoof. Contractual documents should clearly specify type of flooring to be provided by the contractor along with minimum levels of acceptance. Flooring in dairy cattle facilities.