Importance of soft and hard flooring system for claw conformation, locomotion, claw- and leg health in heifers and first calvers

Importance of flooring system for heifers before calving and for first calvers, regarding claw conformation, locomotion, claw and leg lesions, was studied experimentally in a commercial dairy herd. Heifers of about 12 months of age, were blocked to breed and age, and randomly allocated to cubicles (hard) or to deep straw bedding (soft). Heifers on hard flooring had higher growth and wear rate of claws and a higher prevalence of sole haemorrhages and dermatitis than heifers on deep straw bedding, who got overgrown claws and more heel horn erosion. Leg lesions were only observed in the cubicle system. After the first housing period the animals claws were trimmed and they were grazed together for 4 months. Thereafter, they were all housed in a cubicle system and any differences between groups regarding any observed traits were no longer seen. Half the animals from each group from the previous heifer housing period were allocated to either concrete slats or rubber slatted flooring in the alleys. After 4 months observation period and at the end of housing season, the most prominent finding was a higher odds for lameness (OR=3,6; P<0,01), sole haemorrhage and sole ulcer (OR=2,2; P<0,05) and white line haemorrhage (OR=2,8; P<0,01) on animals on concrete slats compared to those on rubber slats. Although not significant, animals coming from deep straw bedding had a higher prevalence of sole haemorrhages and sole ulcers than those from the cubicles, especially when moved to the concrete slats compared to rubber slats. Soft floors are beneficial for cows claw and leg health and heifers changing from soft to hard flooring system needs longer acclimatization time and trimming of overgrown claws