Cow welfare
Cow health
Healthy cows, better results
The foundation of a successful dairy farm
Healthy cows are the foundation of every successful dairy farm. That’s why, in all the products we develop at Lely, we focus on keeping your cows healthy—so they continue to eat well, ruminate, move around, and produce milk. This contributes to better animal welfare, lower costs, and greater job satisfaction.
Cow health
Healthy cows are more fertile and produce more milk
Hoof health
A cow with healthy hooves moves more easily, eats more, and produces better. Regular hoof care and clean floors are essential for this. Frequent feeding also has a positive effect on hoof health.
Udder health
A healthy udder is the foundation for good milk production and milk quality. Lely products contribute to good udder health. For example, our Astronaut milking robot provides a wealth of udder health data, and the Discovery manure robot ensures a cleaner barn, thereby reducing the risk of infections.
Rumen health
Good nutrition is the foundation. A balanced diet supports rumen health, prevents problems such as rumen acidosis, and ensures stable milk production.
Fertility cow
Every dairy farmer aims to have cows that conceive quickly. Excessively long calving intervals, additional inseminations, and overly long lactations lead to extra costs and frustration. Lely helps with heat detection and insights into fertility results. Annual MPR data shows that cows achieving higher production with a Lely milking robot do not have reduced fertility.
Hygiene
Clean stables as the foundation of cow health
Hygiene in the barn is essential for cow health and animal welfare. Cows that lie in clean and dry stalls are less prone to udder, skin, and hoof problems. Regularly fresh bedding and proper maintenance of mats or mattresses help keep the lying areas dry.
Cows move more easily on clean floors; they are less likely to slip and sustain fewer injuries. There is also a lower risk of infectious hoof diseases that cause lameness, such as interdigital phlegmon, Mortellaro’s disease, or foul foot. A manure robot ensures a clean barn floor at all times of the day.
Comfort in the barn
Cow comfort
Cow comfort is about more than just the number of available lying spots. It also involves, for example, sufficient walking space, light, good ventilation, and clean drinking water. A cow that experiences sufficient comfort lies down more, ruminates more, and stays healthier. A cow brush is an important tool for increasing cow comfort. Cows enjoy using the brush to massage their skin. This stimulates blood circulation and helps reduce stress.
A cow brush:
- removes dirt and loose hair, keeping the skin cleaner and healthier, which prevents itching
- stimulates blood circulation, contributing to better metabolism and skin condition
- reduces stress and boredom; the cow brush supports the cow’s natural behavior
- promotes lying down and rumination; a relaxed cow is more likely to lie down and ruminate calmly
Data management
Monitoring of cow health and early detection
By closely observing cows on a daily basis, abnormalities can be detected more quickly. A data management system and various sensors assist in this process. This allows emerging health issues to be detected early, even before they become visible. As a result, it’s possible to intervene quickly, and data management helps you stay one step ahead of conditions such as mastitis, hoof problems, or metabolic diseases.
A data management system, such as Lely Horizon, plays an increasingly important role in monitoring cow health. Horizon collects all available data in one place, analyzes it, and translates it into practical insights. In this way, Horizon helps provide a complete picture of the health and well-being of each individual cow. Additionally, you receive an alert in case of abnormalities. In Lely Horizon, you can view various reports to help identify mastitis early, for example.
Managing health treatments is essential for the health and productivity of your herd. This is also a key component of Lely Horizon: the recording of treatments. Within Horizon, you can keep a clear overview of all treatment protocols and treatments. Lely Horizon handles the analysis. This way, a single management system enables you to find everything you need to know about animal health. Read more in this article.
Customer stories
Healthy cows are the foundation for higher milk production
Peter en Marius Rijken
Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands
Since switching from the milking pit to automatic milking, we have seen an improvement in cow health.
Koen en Laura Nooijen
Coevorden, the Netherlands
We have a good understanding of the herd’s health and can act quickly if a cow is unwell.
Kees en Bart van Gestel
Hooge Mierde, the Netherlands
At the start of the lactation period, there is an increased risk of health problems for high-yielding animals. The data from Lely Horizon is extremely valuable in this regard, providing support through various analyses.
Farming insights
Would you like to know more about cow health?
Read more in our articles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about cow health
When cows are fed smaller portions more frequently, the acidity level in the rumen remains more stable. This reduces the risk of rumen acidosis. In addition, the bacteria in the rumen can then continue to do their work. As a result, the cow absorbs more nutrients from the same ration.
Feeding more frequently prevents peaks and troughs in energy levels. This helps cows maintain their condition and supports milk production. It also reduces the risk of problems such as persistent milk fever or ketosis, especially in high-producing cows.
Feeding more frequently reduces competition at the feed fence. This brings calm to the barn and reduces stress on the hooves. It also better aligns with the cow’s natural feeding behavior.
In short: feeding more frequently promotes rumen health, improves feed utilization, and reduces health risks, all of which contribute to healthier cows.
A sick cow often shows subtle signs. For example: she reacts more slowly, lies apart from the herd, eats and chews the cud less, produces less milk or milk with flakes, has a fever, or has trouble getting up.
The sooner you recognize these signs, the greater the chance of recovery. A data management system helps you collect health metrics and alerts you to any abnormalities. This often allows you to identify a sick cow before the illness becomes visible. And so you can intervene sooner to prevent the condition from worsening.
Automation helps you guide cows that need treatment to the right area. Think of a cow you want to inseminate, have its hooves trimmed (preventatively), dry off, or a sick cow that needs medication. If you use Lely Horizon, advanced filters and automatic routing help direct the right cow to the right area at the right time. This happens right after milking in the Lely Astronaut, so without disrupting the cow’s routine and without causing stress.
Data-driven cow health
Improving cow health starts with the right insights
Healthy cows are the foundation of every successful dairy farm. This is achieved through daily insights into the herd’s behavior, health, and environment. By identifying issues such as hoof and udder health, metabolic disorders, and reduced immunity early on, you can prevent higher costs and production losses. Smart use of data and automation not only helps you respond to problems but also prevent them systematically.