Tie-stall design and its relationship to lameness, injury, and cleanliness on 317 Ontario dairy farms.

The objective of this study was to identify relationships between tie-stall design and selected cow-based injury, lameness, and cleanliness measurements. All lactating dairy cows (n = 17,893) from 317 Ontario tie-stall dairy farms were evaluated once between March and September 2003. Stall dimensions were recorded and cows were scored for neck and hock lesions, broken tails, back arch, hind claw rotation, and udder and hind limb cleanliness. Neck lesions were significantly associated with tie-rail height. Hock lesions were positively associated with presence of an electric trainer and hind limb and udder cleanliness and negatively associated with tie-chain length. A negative association was found between broken tails and tie-rail height and a positive association between broken tails and udder and hind limb cleanliness. As mean stall length increased, fewer cows had hind-claw rotation. Having more dirty cows was associated negatively with stall length and chain length, and positively associated with the presence of an electric trainer. Proportion of cows with clean udders increased with the percentage of cows with clean hind limbs and with tie-rail height. As the prevalence of clean udders increased the prevalence of broken tails decreased. This study provides insight into how tie-stall dimensions may influence aspects of dairy cow welfare. Application of these principles could improve tie-stall design.