Dairy Cow Locomotion and Slipperiness in Different Flooring Systems

The slipperiness of following floors was studied: solid acid resistant mastic asphalt, elastic rubber mats (KURA-P) and slatted concrete floor. The static and dynamic coefficients of friction were determined under field conditions at the different sites of the walking areas. Additionally the friction coefficients were tested with five different magnitudes of vertical load. The cow gait was studied in 81 dairy cows on the walkways under field conditions, at three occasions during the housing period. The cows walked at a reproducible speed and trackway measurements were used for gait analysis. The stride length, step frequency, step width and overlap were studied. The slatted concrete floor had the lowest coefficient of friction and the value also had the lowest decrease on more contaminated sites. The asphalt showed greatest difference in measured friction on sites with different degree of dirtiness. Rubber had the highest coefficient of friction with low decrease on more contaminated sites. Rubber mats also showed ...