Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows
Despite dairy farmers' awareness of the importance of correct bedding for the health and comfort of their cows, they are often frugal with respect to these bedding materials in order to reduce costs. In addition, farmers are currently dependent on the availability and price fluctuations of trad...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
2015-03-01
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| Series: | Veterinární Medicína |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/artkey/vet-201503-0001_feasibility-of-miscanthus-as-alternative-bedding-for-dairy-cows.php |
| _version_ | 1797897552257875968 |
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| author | S. Van Weyenberg T. Ulens K. De Reu I. Zwertvaegher P. Demeyer L. Pluym |
| author_facet | S. Van Weyenberg T. Ulens K. De Reu I. Zwertvaegher P. Demeyer L. Pluym |
| author_sort | S. Van Weyenberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite dairy farmers' awareness of the importance of correct bedding for the health and comfort of their cows, they are often frugal with respect to these bedding materials in order to reduce costs. In addition, farmers are currently dependent on the availability and price fluctuations of traditional bedding materials. For these reasons, the scientific literature as well as the trade press point to an intensifying search for affordable alternative bedding materials. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Miscanthus, a woody grass that requires low input but generates high yield, could replace straw in deep little dairy cow cubicles. The cows' cubicles were lined for two consecutive 14-day periods with straw/chalk/water bedding, followed by two consecutive 14-day periods with ground-Miscanthus/chalk bedding. No significant differences were found in the following parameters: loss/waste of bedding material, bacterial growth in cubicles, cow skin lesions (except for carpus lesions), cow cleanliness or cow comfort. Dust concentrations measured as PM10 were higher when cubicles were filled with straw-based bedding, but never exceeded workspace quality safety limits. Based on these results, one can conclude that Miscanthus has potential as a viable alternative to straw when used as a bedding material. On-farm cultivation of Miscanthus may increase dairy farmer self-sufficiency and could reduce bedding costs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T08:00:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e864e278d2564d08b335eadf3a215e15 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0375-8427 1805-9392 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T08:00:12Z |
| publishDate | 2015-03-01 |
| publisher | Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinární Medicína |
| spelling | doaj.art-e864e278d2564d08b335eadf3a215e152023-02-23T03:50:24ZengCzech Academy of Agricultural SciencesVeterinární Medicína0375-84271805-93922015-03-0160312113210.17221/8059-VETMEDvet-201503-0001Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cowsS. Van Weyenberg0T. Ulens1K. De Reu2I. Zwertvaegher3P. Demeyer4L. Pluym5Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Merelbeke, BelgiumInstitute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Merelbeke, BelgiumInstitute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Merelbeke, BelgiumInstitute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Merelbeke, BelgiumInstitute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Merelbeke, BelgiumInstitute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, Merelbeke, BelgiumDespite dairy farmers' awareness of the importance of correct bedding for the health and comfort of their cows, they are often frugal with respect to these bedding materials in order to reduce costs. In addition, farmers are currently dependent on the availability and price fluctuations of traditional bedding materials. For these reasons, the scientific literature as well as the trade press point to an intensifying search for affordable alternative bedding materials. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Miscanthus, a woody grass that requires low input but generates high yield, could replace straw in deep little dairy cow cubicles. The cows' cubicles were lined for two consecutive 14-day periods with straw/chalk/water bedding, followed by two consecutive 14-day periods with ground-Miscanthus/chalk bedding. No significant differences were found in the following parameters: loss/waste of bedding material, bacterial growth in cubicles, cow skin lesions (except for carpus lesions), cow cleanliness or cow comfort. Dust concentrations measured as PM10 were higher when cubicles were filled with straw-based bedding, but never exceeded workspace quality safety limits. Based on these results, one can conclude that Miscanthus has potential as a viable alternative to straw when used as a bedding material. On-farm cultivation of Miscanthus may increase dairy farmer self-sufficiency and could reduce bedding costs.https://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/artkey/vet-201503-0001_feasibility-of-miscanthus-as-alternative-bedding-for-dairy-cows.phpbedding materialcow comfortbacterial load |
| spellingShingle | S. Van Weyenberg T. Ulens K. De Reu I. Zwertvaegher P. Demeyer L. Pluym Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows Veterinární Medicína bedding material cow comfort bacterial load |
| title | Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows |
| title_full | Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows |
| title_fullStr | Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows |
| title_full_unstemmed | Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows |
| title_short | Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows |
| title_sort | feasibility of miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows |
| topic | bedding material cow comfort bacterial load |
| url | https://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/artkey/vet-201503-0001_feasibility-of-miscanthus-as-alternative-bedding-for-dairy-cows.php |
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