Improve comfort in tie-stalls

Raising the tie-rail in your tie-stall barn is one way to improve cow comfort, health and safety, notes Neil Anderson, senior veterinary scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Fergus, Ontario. For example, Anderson knows of producers who installed the tie-rail 48 inches above the bedding or mattress and 8 inches forward of the manger curb. These modified stalls allowed the first-calf heifers and older cows to rise without struggling. “The changes are a sure way to boost cow comfort and improve access to feed and water,” Anderson notes.

Another producer has seen good success in 12 stalls where he positioned the tie-rails 50 inches above the mattress and 10 inches forward of the manger curb for the largest cows in his herd, Anderson adds.

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