True or false? What do you think? You deserve to hear the real story about dairy production from someone who knows it best.
Here is a video I found about overall cow comfort:
Fact: Cow comfort is a top priority to dairy farmers. This includes making sure that clean, dry bedding is available to cows at all time, in addition to providing healthy living conditions.
Dairy farmers provide clean, dry bedding to their cows and access to food and water 24 hours a day. The cows rest in stalls filled with soft sand, dry compost, or mattresses filled with rubber and water. Other recycled products like paper pulp, sawdust and straw also are used to create dry and comfortable beds for the animals. "Mattresses??", you ask?? Yes! Some dairy farms have rubber filled mattresses OR waterbeds for the cows! We use sand on the dairy because whats more comfortable than laying on the beach.. right? The "beds" are maintained and refurbished each day to keep them clean.
Clean + Comfortable = healthy & happy cows = milk!
Many farmers house their animals in freestall barns, which means the cows are able to move about to eat, drink and rest whenever they like. [Pretty ingenious name... "free" "stall" - get to move around "freely"]These barns provide easy access to feed and clean water, as well as shade and protection from bad weather. Looking at a building like this in the winter, when curtains are up to keep cows protected from the elements, you might not know whats it there. Some free-stall barns actually look like a big warehouse. Its all the same inside. Cows are usually in a designated group where they can move around, eat, and sleep whenever they choose!
Check out this video on Dairy Farming Today: Dairy Farming Today - Video - Vet Talking about Cow Comfort
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