From providing thicker bedding to playing music, dairy producers can resort to a raft of environment enrichment methods to aid cow comfort. This, in turn, can lead to improved milk production and animal welfare.
Fitting mechanical brushes has been explored by academics over the years as a way to keep cows happier and more productive while housed indoors.
Research indicates that making it easier for dairy cows to groom themselves - a behavior they are naturally inclined to but which can be restricted in intensive farming systems - can reduce stress and boredom.
For example, a 2007 study by T.J. DeVries et al concluded that installing brushes in hard-to-reach areas can help alleviate frustration. A more recent study on manually brushing cows’ abdomens during milking also concluded that the method reduced the level of cortisol, a stress hormone.
Importantly, research has also found evidence that links mechanical brushing to increased milk production.
What are cow brushes?
Mechanical brushes have been around since the 1980s, according to Georg and Totschek, who carried out the first study on the beneficial effects of the devices on cow behavior. Mechanical brushes are typically operated via a switch by the animal itself and allows for repeated brushing without the need for manual interventions.
According to Schukken and Young research, second lactation cows produced 1kg more milk per day (a 3.5% increase) in barns where a brush had been installed. However, no such effects were observed in first-lactation cows and those that had calved three or more times.
The incidence of clinical mastitis in second and higher lactation cows was also lower in pens where a brush had been made available, according to the same study.
Analysis carried out by Mississippi State University Extension suggests that reducing costs associated with mastitis (at $427 per case for multiparous cows) would justify the cost of brushes, which can range from $50 to $1,000 in the US.
Precision agriculture’s potential
A 2024 study into different precision farming technologies examined how the use of mechanical ventilation and automatic milking systems can benefit productivity and boost animal welfare. Using a life cycle analysis to quantify the results on a fat and protein-corrected milk basis, Lovarelli et al discovered that installing a mechanical ventilation system was associated with the biggest benefits to milk production, welfare and sustainability.
The study was carried out in Italy over several years, with temperatures ranging from 2.7°C in January to around 27°C in July.
According to the findings, cows housed in barns with mechanical ventilation installed produced 4.4kg more milk on average, with increases in both fat and protein content.
Where both ventilation and an automatic milking system were fitted, milk yield increased by 7.4kg on average - but the impact on fat and protein production was flat to negative.
Sources:
DeVries, T. J., Vankova, M., Veira, D. M., & von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. (2007). Short communication: Usage of mechanical brushes by lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 90(5), 2241–2245. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2006-648
Wredle, E., et al (2022). Feeding and Manual Brushing Influence the Release of Oxytocin, ACTH and Cortisol Differently During Milking in Dairy Cows. Front. Neurosci., 14 March 2022. Sec. Neuroendocrine Science. Volume 16 - 2022. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.671702
Schukken, Y.H. and Young, G.D., 2009. Field study on milk production and mastitis effect of the DeLaval Swinging Cow Brush. DeLaval: Tumba, Sweden, pp.1-26.
Lovarelli, D., et al. Reducing life cycle environmental impacts of milk production through precision livestock farming. Sustainable Production and Consumption, Volume 51, 2024, Pages 303-314, ISSN 2352-5509. DOI: 10.1016/j.spc.2024.09.021