Welfare pens in dairy cattle herds with automatic milking systems – a descriptive study

Automatic milking systems ( AMSs ) are popular in Norway, with the majority of Norwegian dairy cows milked by AMS. Cows that are lame, primiparous, or have a low social ranking have a reduced ability to compete for access to the milking robot and other resources. Norwegian AMS barns commonly include a welfare pen that reduces competition for the cows kept there, as there are fewer cows per resource. Although all cows in the barn use the same milking robot, in the welfare pen, fewer cows access the robot through the same entrance. The aims of our descriptive study were to describe welfare pens and their integration in Norwegian AMS barns, outline how welfare pens are used on Norwegian dairy farms, report the perceived benefits and challenges of welfare pens, and discuss the economic implications of including a welfare pen in an AMS barn. We used information gathered from online questionnaire responses (n = 127), farm visits (n = 5), on-farm registrations (n = 137), and semi-structured interviews with agricultural building advisors (n = 3). Data were described, and summary statistics were presented. Responses to open-ended questionnaire questions underwent thematic analysis. Welfare pens most frequently have space for 10–15% of the herds’ cows. Lame or sick cows, cows in late gestation, freshly calved cows, and heifers requiring training were the groups most frequently housed in the welfare pen. There was, however, a huge variation in how and why welfare pens were reported to be used. The length of time cows spent in the welfare pen depended on the reason for which cows were moved to the welfare pen. Easier cow management and support for sick and struggling cows were among the benefits identified, although practical challenges were also raised. Economically, the cost of a welfare pen was difficult to quantify and varied depending on its size and application. Although most often used during the periparturient period and for lame or sick cows, welfare pens are a highly flexible solution that can be used for several other cow groups and practical applications. The perception of welfare pens among study participants was largely positive, although empirical research is necessary to elucidate the production and animal welfare benefits, or lack thereof, of these management systems.