Madhu Mishra Deepak Upadhyay Amol Gurav Vijay Domple Vol 7(12), 22-40 DOI- http://dx.doi.org/10.5455/ijlr.20170607061548
Most walkways, milking parlor and feeding space in cattle houses are presently made up of concrete because it is durable, cheap and resistant to wear and hygienic. However, hard floor surface negatively affect hoof health and comfort, predisposes animal to pain and lameness and ultimately affect productivity. Lameness is world-widely reported as economically important disease. With the increased awareness for animal welfare provision of cushioned flooring in the animal house is gaining popularity. Providing soft rubber floor and sand bedding may be favorable for cow comfort, health, hygiene, and milk production. It probably reduces occurrence of lameness and mastitis in organized dairy farm. In this review attempt has been made to discuss dairy housing system in India, floors being used and problems associated with them. Further possibilities of alternative flooring have been explored.
Keywords : Concrete Crossbred Cow Floor Lameness Rubber Mat Sand