Dairy cows

We’re concerned about the conditions in which dairy cows are farmed, transported and slaughtered. Find out more about the farming systems, key welfare issues, what we’re doing to improve issues, and how you can make a difference.

Cattle behaviour and needs

Understanding the natural behaviour of dairy cows can help explain their needs.

Cattle are very social animals and live in herds. Social hierarchies play an important role in herds, with some cows being more dominant than others. Cows also have preferred social partners in their groups, who they keep close to and are more likely to groom.
Cattle are grazing animals and will feed on grasses and other plants that grow close to the ground. They tend to spend around one-third to one-half of their day grazing when kept in fields, eating more at dawn and dusk.
The vegetation that cattle eat can be difficult to digest, so they've evolved a specialised digestive system to help them digest it. Their stomachs famously contain four chambers.
Cows 'ruminate', which means they regurgitate, re-chew and then re-swallow partially digested food to further help digestion.
Cattle spend a large chunk of their day lying down. This is an important activity for cows as it's when they do most ruminating and when they rest and sleep.

Dairy cow farming

There are around 1.8 million dairy cows in the UK. While the number of UK dairy farms is going down, herds are getting bigger, so the overall number of dairy cows is staying fairly stable. The ways in which they’re farmed varies. Let's look at how dairy cows are most commonly kept.

Dairy cow life cycle

Cows are pregnant for nine months. Dairy farmers usually plan for their cows to give birth to their first calf when they're around two years old, so heifers (young female cows) will usually be pregnant for the first time when they're around 15 months old. After this, farmers generally aim for their cows to calve again every year.

Dairy cows produce milk for about 10 months after calving. The average UK dairy cow produces just over 8,000 litres of milk each year and has just under four milk producing cycles in her lifetime, which is typically six and a half years.

Dairy cow housing

In the UK, dairy cows are traditionally kept in fields in spring and summer when the grass is growing, and housed indoors during the winter. Around five percent of dairy farms keep their herds inside continuously, which is called a ‘continuous’ or ‘year-round’ housing system.

Two main types of dairy cow housing systems are used in the UK: cubicles and loose housing.

Cubicles (or ‘free stalls’) – this is the most commonly seen housing system and consists of individual, bedded compartments where the cows can lie down. These usually have a concrete base, often covered with a cushioned rubber mat or mattress, which can be topped with bedding material such as sawdust, wood shavings or straw. Some cubicles are 'deep bedded', which means the concrete base is hollowed out and filled with a deep layer of bedding, most commonly sand. A house with cubicles will also contain areas where the cows can go to feed and drink and, sometimes, additional 'loafing areas' where they can go to congregate and socialise.
Loose housing – this housing is very similar to cubicle housing, except the cows are given ‘deep-bedded’ yards to lie down in, instead of individual cubicles.

Feeding

Cattle housed indoors are usually given fresh feed once or twice a day in a trough or feeder. Some farms use ‘self-feed’ systems, where cows help themselves over the course of the day. Even when cattle are outside and grazing, they are often given additional feed.