Maternity pen design and management from the cow's perspective

The calving period is a critical time for dairy cows, as they are at high risk of disease soon after calving. Ensuring that these cows receive proper care is paramount to their welfare and to the overall profitability of the herd. Although we have clearly made progress in our understanding of production diseases, we are just now gaining an understanding of maternal behaviors before and after the calf is born. Here, we review the literature to date about behavioral changes during the peri-parturient period, and then discuss how this information can be applied to a commercial setting. Management and housing practices during the calving period is highly variable, especially during the peri-parturient period. To better understand the effect of calving management and housing on dairy cow behavior, we conducted a series of experiments at the University of British Columbia in Canada and at the Aarhus University in Denmark. In our first experiment, we determined the effect of a common management practice on pre-parturient behavior and labor progress. Many producers move cows from group pens into individual pens, and this sometimes occurs while labor is in progress. We discovered that moving cows during a sensitive period between the first and second stages of labor (i.e., showing signs of abdominal contracts and mucous coming from the vulva) disrupts normal recumbent behavior and prolongs the second stage of labor. In the next 2 experiments, we gave cows the choice to calve in an open setting or in a secluded setting much like where you would find cows in a more natural environment when calving. We were able to provide evidence that indoor-housed dairy cows will also seek seclusion when given the opportunity, especially when calving during the daytime and when there is no competition for the secluded area. This new information can help improve calving management and housing practices by accommodating the behavioral changes of cows as calving approaches. Further research is encouraged to determine any long-term benefits to allowing cows seclusion at calving and not disrupting them while labor is in progress.