Does a new water-cooled cubicle mattress used in summer in early lactating dairy cows affect cow behaviour and decrease lameness incidence? A clinical randomized trial

Objectives

To assess if a new heat abatement system – a water-cooled cubicle mattress – used in hot periods could decrease lameness incidence in peak to mid lactation, assuming the cows on water-cooled cubicle mattress would spend less time standing and more time feeding in early lactation.

Materials and methods

A randomized clinical trial was implemented on a commercial dairy farm of Western France from 14 June to 31 December 2021. A competent ethics committee had approved the experiment (authorization # CERVO-2021-14). At calving, cattle were randomly allocated to one of two adjacent barns, equipped with either a conventional cubicle mattress (Louisiane mattress; Bioret-Agri, France) or a cubicle waterbed (Aquaclim; Bioret-Agri, France). The cows were moved to another barn at around 150 days).

The temperature-humidity index (THI) was calculated from the climatic parameters of the barns (air temperature, relative humidity) recorded every 15 minutes. The behaviour of the cows was continuously monitored using computer vision (AIherd; France). In addition, daily rumination and ingestion time were recorded by a neck collar comprising a tri-axis accelerometer and microphonic sensors (Lely Qwes HR; Lely France). All treatments were registered by the farmer.Cows’ feet were trimmed by an expert hoof-trimmer at the beginning and end of the trial. Gait was scored by two of four trained observers every fortnight. [...]