Designing the group maternity pen: Insights from the cow's perspective

Designing maternity pens for dairy cows is met with many challenges, including space constraints, the need to monitor the calving process, and accommodating the cows' maternal behavior. Historically, the maternity pen has been designed for ease and convenience of farm management to keep pens clean and easily monitor the calving process. This focus on human convenience for managing the maternity pen may not be ideal for the cow. Although there may not be a perfect maternity pen design, these facilities should accommodate the cow's natural behaviors as she approaches calving. New research has provided insights into the behaviors of cows as calving approaches, which can help improve management and housing for cows before giving birth.