Replication Data for: The freestall reimagined: Effects on stall hygiene and space usage in dairy cattle

Lying stalls for dairy cattle are designed to maintain cow hygiene, reduce labor associated with bedding maintenance, and provide cows with a comfortable place to lie down. These considera-tions can conflict: stall features that, e.g., reduce manure contamination of bedding can make the stall less comfortable, explaining why cows prefer lying in more open spaces. We developed an “alternative” lying area in which traditional freestalls (i.e., in which cattle are not confined to stalls but can move “freely” about the pen) were modified to create larger areas, and flexible stall partitions were included to help maintain cleanliness. We assessed cattle lying behaviour, in-cluding lying postures, in this alternative pen compared to both traditional freestalls and an open pack. Not surprisingly, cleanliness was higher in freestalls, but the alternative pen offered sub-stantial improvement in cleanliness over the open pack. There was little difference in postures as-sociated with lying positions (such as lying with limbs outstretched) between the open pack and alternative pen, and both offered greater limb extension compared to freestalls. We conclude that this type of alternative pen can provide producers with the opportunity to improve comfort com-pared to freestall housing and improve cleanliness compared to housing in an open pack.奶牛躺卧栏的设计初衷为维持奶牛卫生、减少垫料维护相关的人力成本，并为奶牛提供舒适的躺卧场所。但上述三项设计目标之间往往存在冲突：例如，旨在减少垫料粪便污染的栏舍设计，反而会降低躺卧舒适度，这也解释了为何奶牛更偏爱开阔的躺卧空间。 本研究开发了一种"新型"躺卧区域：将传统自由散栏（freestalls，即奶牛无需被局限于单栏、可在圈舍内自由活动的栏舍）改造为更大的活动空间，并增设可灵活调节的栏舍隔板以维持环境卫生。本研究对比了该新型圈舍、传统自由散栏与开放式垫料圈舍（open pack）的奶牛躺卧行为（包括躺卧姿势）。 不出所料，传统自由散栏的环境卫生状况更佳，但新型圈舍的清洁度相较于开放式垫料圈舍有显著提升。开放式垫料圈舍与新型圈舍的躺卧姿势（如四肢伸展躺卧）差异极小，且二者的四肢伸展程度均高于传统自由散栏。本研究得出结论：这类新型躺卧圈舍可帮助养殖户在提升奶牛躺卧舒适度（相较于传统自由散栏养殖模式）的同时，改善环境卫生状况（相较于开放式垫料圈养殖模式）。