Dairy cows prefer cubicles with a 3% versus 10% slope (2025)

Jannah, Z. N., Hoof, M. V., Eecke, J. V. et al.

Abstract

Cows rest 8–16 hours a day to reduce energy expenditure, optimize digestion, and promote recovery. The cubicle’s slope is crucial for cow comfort and proper positioning during rest. This study evaluated dairy cow preferences for two cubicle slopes (3% vs. 10%) and their effects on resting behavior. Seven pairs of lactating Friesian–Holstein cows were housed in an experimental pen with four adjacent cubicles (two with a 10% slope and two with a 3% slope) for four days in each of two rounds, separated by 28 days. To control for location preference, the allocation of slope treatments to the cubicle positions (P1–P4) was reversed between rounds. These data were used to calculate three outcome variables: lying time, number of lying bouts and lying bout duration. Linear mixed models were used to test the effects of cubicle slope and position for both the “full” and “restricted” datasets. The “restricted” dataset was limited to lying bouts when cows could freely choose between all 4 cubicles without the other cow occupying one of them. The results revealed that cows preferred cubicles with a 3% slope. In the “full” dataset, lying time (7.5 vs. 4.4 hours/day, p=0.035) and the number of lying bouts (8.2 vs. 4.8 times/day, p=0.032) were greater for 3% vs. 10% cubicles, but lying bout duration was not significantly affected (0.93 vs. 0.87 h/bout, p=0.324). For the “restricted” dataset, all outcomes were greater for 3% cubicles (all p<0.002). Cubicle position did not significantly affect any outcome, suggesting that slope was the dominant factor affecting cubicle preference.