Rubber mats prevent slips and injuries
For every breeder, it's the worst way to start the day: to enter the barn and find a cow that has slipped and can't get up. On damp concrete, often polished by scrapers, the ground can become slippery. In the event of overlapping, cows are surprised by the scraper and slip. The time they have to wait on the ground before being rescued, and the severity of their injuries, mean that many never recover.
Cows back on their feet
The use of rubber mats significantly reduces the risk of slipping. The non-slip surface reproduces the softness and stability of a meadow. Anti-slip mats make movement safer. Cows are more likely to move around to eat and drink, which benefits milk production. Patterns on rubber mats make the surface non-slip, improving animal safety. Even on wet surfaces, the risk of falling is reduced, even in the event of jostling.
It was a recurring problem of slips and falls that prompted Christophe Favreau, a breeder in the Deux-Sèvres region, to install mats Magellan. "Since then, I've had no more problems with cows slipping and falling apart," he says. The same approach was adopted by Gaec des 4 lieux in Vendée. "Our old carpets were 12 years old and had become smooth. Since we replaced them with Magellan carpets on all the scraped corridors, we've been able to get cows back on their feet. They run on them as if they were in the meadow," says Damien Soulard, one of the partners. Recently, a cow went off the rails, but thanks to the structure and grooves, she managed to get back up without any damage.
Another advantage of this stability is that, without fear of slipping, cows can better express their natural behaviours, such as heat. With more frequent overlapping, it will be easier to detect cows in heat and inseminate them at the right time. The expression of natural behaviours is one of the criteria of animal welfare. A sign that your cows feel safe is that they dare to lift a leg to lick themselves.
When animal welfare meets workplace safety
The stability provided by rubber mats is also a guarantee of safety for breeders. It's also more comfortable for us," jokes Damien Soulard. Even with wet boots, we no longer risk slipping and injuring ourselves.
