Cow comfort, a basis for lameness control

As the number of large-scale dairy farms increase dairy cow welfare has become a hot topic in recent years. This growing interest in animal welfare has motivated legislators to set new rules. The most important concerns regarding dairy cow welfare include whether the dairy cow is feeling well, functioning well, and performing natural behavior. Cow behavior and comfort level have a direct relationship with her production and health and cow comfort is one of the most important factors affecting the profitability of dairy farms due to its association with premature slaughter, survival of cows and reproductive life (number of complete lactations before slaughter). In this paper, we explained the concept of comfort in dairy cattle and its risk factors such as stall design, floor type, density, lameness and heat stress. Then the measures of cow comfort are introduced and the management considerations related to cattle comfort are discussed.