Experience familie Sterkenburgh

At the Sterkenburgh family's dairy farm in Ferwoude, in the north of the Netherlands, a part of the stalls have recently been replaced by the Dreamstalls with Dutch Mountain cow mattresses. Farmer Sjoerd Sterkenburgh tells enthusiastically about his experiences.

On the Sterkenburgh family's dairy farm with 180 cows, cow welfare of the cows is of paramount importance. When Cowhouse introduced the new Dreamstall stall divider, it immediately had the farmer's interest. Sjoerd: "What appeals to me most is the space and freedom of movement that the cow has in this freestall. This provides a great deal of comfort." At the beginning of August, 50 existing stalls were replaced by Dreamstalls and Dutch Mountains cow mattresses. Sterkenburgh: “These stalls are almost always occupied. We see that cows are lying down quickly and for a long time. They have plenty of space to move freely and show their natural behaviour.”

Cows opt for extra comfort

At the Sterkenburgh farm a large part of the barn is equipped with Dutch Mountain cow mattresses. “Using Dutch Mountain mattresses in the existing stalls is already a big improvement”, says Sjoerd. “But if the cows can choose for the stalls with the wide Dreamstall dividers, they always choose this option”, he says.

In the barn, the Dreamstalls have a width of 140 cm. “The spacious stalls and the fact that they are not bothered by rails ensures just that extra cow comfort”, says Sterkenburgh. “They can stand nicely with their heads up and look in all directions, there is no neckrail in the way. They stand and rest freely in the stall, which is nice to see”, says the farmer with satisfaction. “We notice that the cows lie down faster and longer and therefore the lying time expands. This benefits milk production.”

“When a cow enters the stall, the guiding frame ensures that she is positioned straight,” Sjoerd explains. “As soon as she lies down, she is not bothered by this frame at all and has all the space to rest comfortably. Due to the correct guidance, cows lie down straight in the Dreamstall, which also means that the stalls stay cleaner,” the farmer observes.

In line for the Dreamstall

At the moment, 10 stalls at the group with older cows are equipped with Dreamstalls in combination with Dutch Mountain cow mattresses. Sjoerd: “With this group, we also see that the cows prefer to lie down in the Dreamstalls. When these stalls are occupied, the other cows wait until a spot becomes available. If they have the chance, they quickly plop down.”

Better use of the barn

With the installation of the Dreamstalls, the lying places have been expanded from 115 cm to 140 cm wide. The farmer has handed in a few lying place. “This was not a problem for our understocked barn”,  says Sterkenburgh. “With the ‘old’ stalls, which are 115 cm wide, we notice that the cows do not lie down next to each other, but alternately. With the Dreamstalls, the cows have a lot of space to lie down or stand freely, which means they also lie down nicely next to each other. “This also means you can make better use of the barn,” says Sterkenburgh.