CowSignals’ best practice:

Optimal design for cubicles

For: All persons worldwide involved in keeping dairy cows.

Authors: Joep Driessen, DVM, CowSignals Training Company & Vetvice, the Netherlands.

Christian Manser, CowSignals master trainer & barn designer, Switzerland

Date: September 2016

Contact: joep.driessen@cowsignals.com

www.cowsignals.com

Photo by Christian Manser

Vetvice Barn Design - http://www.vetvice.com/barn-design

Bertjan Westerlaan - +31 (0)6-27454662 - westerlaan@vetvice.nl
Nico Vreeburg - +31 (0)6-51834396 - vreeburg@vetvice.nl

CowSignals training center – Hoekgraaf 17a– 6617 AX Bergharen – The Netherlands

www.cowsignals.com – info@cowsignals.com - + 31 (0) 487 745 041

CowSignals ® is a member of the Vetvice ® Group

THE 6 FREEDOMS OF PASTURE

Providing optimal cow comfort in a cubicle system is not

easy. In the pasture it is easy: here they are provided
with the seven basic needs from the CowSignals
Diamond: feed, water, light, air, rest, space & health.
Of course, it is not always possible to keep your cows in
the fields. Inside, the next best thing is the free walking
straw barn (or sand/ sawdust). Cows around calving
(3 weeks before till 3 weeks after) should always get the
freedoms of a free straw pack (stress-free calving line).

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX

Free stall design Stress-free calving line

Photo by Joep Driessen Photo by Joep Driessen

THE 6 SUCCESS FACTORS OF CUBICLE DESIGN

If you have your cows in cubicle systems it is important to do everything right if you want to
keep your cows clean and healthy. In this whitepaper we give you six success factors that
will help you keep your cows comfortable during the winter. The advices given here are
based on an average Holstein Frisian cow of 650 kilogram. Measure your own cows first,
and adapt to that

1. Soft and grippy bed floor

2. Free head swing space
3. Neck rail out of the way, up and forward (flexible)
4. Low brisket locator with enough lying surface behind
5. Width of the cubicle
6. Shape of the divider (flexible)

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1. SOFT AND GRIPPY BED FLOOR

Softness prevents front knee and hock damage. Good grip prevents slipping and sliding and
backbone and hock damage.
These are materials that you could use:
o Sand
o Deep straw
o Separated dry manure (green bedding)
o Deep saw dust (15-30 centimeters)
A very soft rubber mattress with a minimum of 5-10 centimeters foam as under layer is a
reasonable alternative but needs lots of bedding on top daily and will always cause more
knee and hock lesions. You always need good ventilation, 2-3 times a day cleaning and/or
once a day/3 times a week filling with fresh material to prevent manure and milk remnants
to cause high cell count and mastitis.

Deep sand bedding is the best for cows.

Another option is dried manure, but this needs
better ventilation or 3x per week fresh bedding
to reach the same udder health results.

With weekly filling, a brisket locator might not be

necessary in sand. Just fill more in the front than
in the back.
Photo by Joep Driessen

Deep straw is excellent, cows love it.

A mix with lime and water can reduce costs,

labour and mastitis.

Photo by Christian Manser

Deep saw dust is very nice.

Make sure you give them enough space. Free

head swing space is too short here.

Watch out for saw dust of a poor quality, this

risks serious mastitis outbreaks with Klebsiella.
Photo by Christian Manser

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Extra info in our blogs:
o Sand vs mattress
o Soft beds for cows is the new standard
o CowSignals’ best practice: recipe for lime-straw-water bedding

2. FREE HEAD SWING SPACE

Free head swing space is essential for cows to move, stand up and ly down easy. She needs
her head as contra weight for her heavy back side, so she will have a soft landing and an
easy stand up. A cow should be able to ly down with her head straight forward and up.
If you give a cow enough head space, you will see less backbone damage and less manure
in the corners of the cubicle.
Head space on the sides of the cubicles are a VERY BAD alternative. They cause many hock,
back and teat damage.

No free head space.

We recommend a minimum of 330 cm in a

single row.

Photo by Christian Manser

Free head space.

Double rows should be 540 cm size from curb

to curb.

Photo by Christian Manser

For good free head swing space we advise up to 325-350 centimeter (cm) from the back
end of the lying surface. Also, we like at least 1 meter high free space from the lying surface.
For the ideal measurements of a cubicle, see next page.

More info:
o How long is a cow? (video)

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MEASUREMENTS FOR AN OPTIMAL CUBICLE

For a Holstein cow, 650 kg, 147 cm high, 270 cm long from nose to tail head.
Measurements depend on cow size, measure your own cows!

Measurements for an ideal cubicle – part 1 & part 2

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3. NECK RAIL OUT OF THE WAY, UP AND FORWARD

The hard neck rail is only needed for stability. Make sure it is out of the way for the cow, at
least at 160 cm high, so cows will never hit metal when they accidently travel trough.
The best position of the other, flexible neck rail is 125 cm above the lying surface and 180
cm from the back side of the cubicle (horizontal measuring). Check: cows must easily walk in
and stand in the bed with 4 feet.
To prevent cows from walking through we advise a flexible band at 100 cm high in the
middle of a double row, or far ahead in a single row. Don’t focus too much on making it
impossible for cows to walk through. We would rather see a shy heifer have this as a safe
escape route if she’s being bothered by more dominant cows. Metal pipes can break
backbones in these kind of situations!

100 cm high flex band is an option to

learn scared cows not to walk through.
Many farms don’t have any band.

If the hard neck rail is low, more cows get

serious backbone injury when walking
through.

Quiet cow handling makes less cows walk

through
Photo by Christian Manser

A flexible band or chain can be positioned a bit tighter: 115 cm high and 175 cm from
backside, because it gives 10 cm extra space. There are several options for a flexible neck
rail:
o a Springbox
o a chain with rubber coverage
o a flexible bar in loops

A chain with rubber coverage, A Flexible bar in loops

photo by Christian Manser Photo by Joep Driessen

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With a flexible neck band or chain cows walk in the cubicle more straight. They don’t hurt
themselves while standing up and lying down. Less fear will also make less cows shit in their
beds.
Start with the maximum size, based on the biggest cows. A flexible system is easy to adjust.
Heifer groups can do with slightly less space (10-15%) than cow groups.

4. LOW BRISKET LOCATOR WITH ENOUGH LYING SURFACE BEHIND

Cows need a brisket locator to tell her were to ly down. It is important to have enough lying
surface behind it. How long is your own bed? Shorter then your body length? Of course not!
Cows like space too.
The length behind the brisket locator should be at least 185 cm. We recommend even a
minimum of 195 cm, like the Swiss cow house law. We also see 200 cm. If you start
measuring cows, you see many are using 210 cm to ly down on. If you use 195 or 200
centimeters, she can stand up without hitting the neck rail very badly.
A brisket locator of maximum 5 cm above the lying surface is ok. Make the top part
rounded. Cows like only a low, narrow, rounded brisket locator because then she can
stretch her legs over it and it is easy to step over it while standing up. This is an essential
move; if you give her this space, less cows will shit in the beds because of less stress.
For material rounded wood or plastic pipes do an excellent job. We don’t like iron, because
it is too hard and too cold.
With deep straw 25 cm x 6 cm wooden planks are used with rounded top.

More space is needed. And/or you have to fill

the cubicles till the edge every day/week.

195 cm is better than 180 cm…. many places

are less than 175 cm… Cows like to have 195
cm or more!!

Often you see tail out in shit: more mastitis

and higher cell count
Photo by Jan Hulsen

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5. WIDTH OF THE CUBICLE

In a spacey cubicle we find less hock, backbone and teat trauma. Also cows have more
resting time, more feed intake and a higher milk production.
The minimum width we advise is 122 cm measured from the middle of the dividers in a
deep bedding system. For cubicles with a mattress we advise 127 cm width to reach the
same resting time.
We advise 125 cm for cows, Dry cows need 135 cm, 1st lactation heifers can do with 120 cm.

See also: Measurements for an ideal cubicle - part 1

* 131 cm heart to heart is Swiss law.

195 cm long free space is also Swiss law.

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6. SHAPE OF THE DIVIDER

Make sure the divider doesn’t bother the cow. This only causes wounds.
For material there are several options. Flexible pipes are better than metal because it gives
less risks for wounded back and ribs. Some systems use a half round wood of 8 cm high
and wide on the last meter under the backside of the divider. This keeps the lower layer of
deep straw bedding in place, gives grip and makes the cow ly down more straight.

Make sure the divider doesn’t bother the back

bone, or the last ribs.

There is less risk if they are wider (>120

centimeters) and longer (>190 cm)

Photo by Christian Manser

Flexible pipes give less risks for wounded back

and ribs.

Photo by Christian Manser

Flexible loops

Photo by Christian Manser

If the barn is half empty, we see more cows lying diagonally. This is possible if you use
flexible dividers: cows can use two cubicles.

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BONUS SUCCESS FACTORS

Of course, there are more factors involved in designing ideal cubicles. So, we’ll just give you
3 more bonus success factors here.
o Excellent air is needed to keep the beds dry
o 3x a day cleaning/raking. You can prepare the beds during milking
o Daily/weekly filling with new material
o Cross breed cows have more mussels, so there is less risk on hock bruises.

You want fresh air where the heads are.

Open walls are best.

Photo by Christian Manser

Open buildings have better air, dryer beds and

floors & less mastitis and hoof infections.

Photo by Christian Manser

Fans needed to keep the beds dry & to supply

dry, fresh air to the cows while resting.

Photo by Christian Manser

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GET AS CLOSE TO OPTIMAL AS POSSIBLE: DO THIS FIRST IN YOUR BARN:

If you’re not designing a new barn at the moment, get as close as possible with
reconstruction. Adapt 10 cubicles in your current barn as much as possible to the drawing
below and let your cows convince you. The drawing is based on 650 kilogram Holstein
Frisians, 2-3 times daily cleaning and good ventilation. Measurements depend on cow size,
so measure your biggest cows first.

Your priorities should be:

1. Make soft, deep beds

It is possible to put a deep bed of 20 centimeters on top of 20 centimeter concrete.
Cows can handle a step till 40 centimeters.
2. Give enough head space
3. Move the neck rail out of the way
4. Give them space: make the beds wide enough

Breaking out the wall gives extra space and air.

Photo by Christian Manser

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CUBICLE DESIGN BY OUR SWISS COWSIGNALS MASTER TRAINER CHRISTIAN MANSER

Swiss cubicles are by law 131 cm wide and 195 cm long (depending on cow size).

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FOR MORE INFORMATION (click on links):

o Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (by Neil Anderson).

o Free stall behavior
o Tie stalls
Or check for sand cubicles
o Vetvice
o Nigel Cook, Wisconsin

VIDEO EXAMPLES

Two ideal cubicles to make sure your cows can’t hurt themselves.
Both with a mix of 4 kg Limestone, 1 kg chopped straw and 1 liter of water.
Click on photos to watch the videos.

Video 1 Video 2

IN CONCLUSION

The very best option is a free compost or free straw pack for all your cows. This is rather
expensive in most countries. So we recommend this straw yard for 5-10% of the high risk
animals: stress-free calving line. For the rest of the herd we recommend beds wits deep
filled sand, straw or dried manure.

Good luck with improving you dairy farm. Let your cows live twice as long!
Start tomorrow with the first 10 beds.

Take care,

Kind regards,

Joep Driessen
Christian Manser

LEARN MORE!

o Sign up for live day training ‘Building for the Cow’ and ‘Barn Design’ in
CowSignals à-la-carte program
o Read the book Building for the cow
o Ask the Vetvice Barn Design team for help
o Follow us on social media:

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