Abstract

The design of concrete slatted floors in animal houses is a compromise between having good drainage capacity and good support for the feet of the animal. Clean and dry alleys in cubicle housing for dairy cows are of great importance for the cleanliness and welfare of the cows and also the milk quality. The drainage capacities of concrete slatted floors were tested in a laboratory arrangement using two different consistencies of manure obtained from either high-yielding dairy cows or from dry cows. Twenty-two floor arrangements with different combinations of single slats ranging from 50 to 150 mm, together with slot widths ranging from 20 to 50 mm, and with a void ratio (the ratio between the slot area and the total floor area) between 16.7 and 33.3 % were tested. The results were analysed by multiple regression. When manure from high-yielding cows was used, the drainage capacity was dependent on the void ratio, with the greater void ratio the better the drainage capacity was obtained. When using manure from dry cows, the drainage capacity was dependent on both the void ratio and the slot width, shifting to narrower slots required an increase in the void ratio to maintain good drainage capacity

Keywords

Drainage; slatted floor; dairy cattle; cleanliness; Sweden

Published in

Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR Ejournal
2008, Volume: 10

SLU Authors

• Magnusson, Madeleine

  • Department of Rural Buildings and Animal Husbandry [LBT], Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Ventorp, Michael

  • Department of Rural Buildings and Animal Husbandry [LBT], Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Nilsson, Christer

  • Department of Rural Buildings and Animal Husbandry [LBT], Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science
Veterinary Science


Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/17905