Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center, Amarillo, TX, USA.
Vet Q. 2022 Dec;42(1):175-182. doi: 10.1080/01652176.2022.2119622.
Self-locking feed stanchions provide ease and reduce the amount of time spent handling cattle on free-stall dairy barns. These stanchions assist with routine farm activities such as pregnancy diagnosis, artificial insemination, and various health-related practices. 'Lock-up time' refers to the amount of time a cow is restrained in the barn within one day and the producers suggest to keep this duration of time as minimal as possible. This review paper looks at various effects of extended length of lock-up time with regards to milk production, reproductive performance, and dairy cattle health. The objective is to investigate potential effects of extended lock-up time and suggest optimal lock-up time as discussed in the literature. Authors have observed an average lockup time of approximately 1-4 hours per day in the farms in southwest USA. Restraint in self-locking head stanchions for extended period (> 4 h per day) could lead to multiple detrimental effects in dairy cow performance. The focus should be to manage the farm adequately by minimizing the restraint time to less than 4 hours per day, and avoid use of headlocks during late morning and afternoon hours of the summer months. Different studies infer that longer lock-up time presents animals with significant stress situations and represents one of the major issue in dairy industry that needs immediate attention.
自锁式给料饲槽为奶牛场提供了便利，减少了处理奶牛的时间。这些饲槽有助于奶牛场的日常活动，如妊娠诊断、人工授精和各种与健康相关的操作。“锁定时间”是指奶牛在牛舍中一天内被限制的时间，生产者建议尽量减少这段时间。这篇综述文章探讨了延长锁定时间对牛奶产量、繁殖性能和奶牛健康的各种影响。目的是研究延长锁定时间的潜在影响，并根据文献建议最佳锁定时间。作者观察到美国西南部的农场平均每天的锁定时间约为 1-4 小时。在自锁式头饲槽中长时间（每天超过 4 小时）约束奶牛可能会对奶牛的生产性能产生多种不利影响。应通过将约束时间减少到每天 4 小时以下来充分管理农场，并避免在夏季的早上午和下午时段使用头锁。不同的研究表明，较长的锁定时间会给动物带来显著的压力，这是奶牛业需要立即关注的主要问题之一。
