LARGER SPECIAL NEEDS PENS PREVENTS HEALTH PROBLEMS

Special needs pens include the following four pens: 1) Close up cows, 2) maternity pens, 3) fresh cow pens, and 4) sick cow pens. Dairymen design and construct these pens to handle a constant flow of cows. The problem is that cows do not become pregnant and calve at a constant rate. Hot weather, feed, and health issues result in fewer cows becoming pregnant in the summer. This is followed by more cows becoming pregnant in September, October, and November. This often causes severe overcrowding in all special needs pens.

Dairymen know that it is wrong to overcrowd the close up and fresh cow pens. However, they have to deal with the reality of increased calvings during certain times of the year.

Dr. Ken Nordlund is a veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Nordlund and co-workers have been doing research on overcrowding and the effects of cow conflicts following pen moves and overcrowding. He stated that some dairymen create a second close up pen to house surplus close up cows. This works good providing the second pen is kept totally separate and managed the same as the primary close up pen. A few dairymen take space away from the late lactation group and use it to expand the close up pen. However, most dairymen are somewhat overcrowded in all pens so they really can not do anything but try to manage through the irregular numbers of fresh cows.

The best answer to this problem is to build larger special needs pens that can handle twice as many fresh cows as we normally expect. This would prevent all overcrowding and probably increase dry matter intake during all times of the year.

Research shows that doubling the size of special needs pens during construction of a new dairy increases the cost by about $60 per cow. Dr. Nordlund states that dairymen could possibly save $60 per cow in just one year by doubling the size of special needs pens. This may be the most sensible way to manage the irregular numbers of cows calving. It makes good dairy cow welfare sense. We must always teach dairymen to speak first about improving cow welfare and not speak about the resulting economic gain.

Comment by Dr. Whitmore

Dr. Nordlund and his co-workers have been doing field investigations of dairy herd problems for many years. They used to diagnose more nutrition management problems as primary risk factors causing postpartum herd health problems. Today they believe the primary risk factors have changed and are now related to frequent moves of cows among special needs pens. Their research documents frequent physical conflicts among cows during the first two days following pen moves. They establish a new social dominant order and it results in a decrease in feed intake for at least two days following moving cattle from one pen to another pen.

Dr. Nordlund published a paper on this subject in the AABP Proceedings, Sept. 2006, pages 36-42. Please also look at our May, 2006 Newsletter. This is very important information. It certainly looks like doubling the size of the special needs pens is cost effective.

My opinion is that the more free-stall space and the more feed bunk space that we give close up and fresh cows, the more they will eat. Sometimes I think we need large individual pens (side by side) from 21 days before calving until 21 days after calving. This would prevent all cow conflict and dominance problems during this critical period. No one has done this research but it could prove to be cost effective.

We also know that close up free stalls should be 54 inches wide (not 48 inches) for the large pregnant Holsteins. Research has revealed that large sand bedded free-stalls in special needs pens are far superior to other stall designs.

News Letter from Dr. Whitmore, April No.3 2007

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