The aim of the present study was to compare the use of bed mattress, rubber and sand coating on the surface of stalls in free-stall barn. Eighteen holstein cows confined in free-stall barn were monitored whose stalls were covered with beds of sand and rubber mattress (treatments). The experimental design was randomized blocks. The studied behavioral parameters were the time spent in different activities: lying in idleness and lying ruminating, standing in idleness on the bedding, standing ruminating on the bed, recorded every 10 min. Environmental variables and surface temperature of the bedding were recorded every hour. There was a greater preference of animals for sand bedding and the behaviors lying in idleness or lying ruminating. The cows spent more time lying on rubber bed only in cooler periods (morning and night), due to the temperature of the bedding. The temperature of the rubber was higher than sand in the hottest times of the day (especially during the afternoon), while in the evening, presented cooler.
behavior; comfort; dairy cattle; confinement; rural buildings
