Open Access

Barbara Benz, Uwe Eilers, Jens Hartung, Hans-Jürgen Seeger

• The activity of dairy cows contributes to their fitness and optimizes physiological parameters. This observational study analyzes structural and technical factors influencing activity on 18 workingThe activity of dairy cows contributes to their fitness and optimizes physiological parameters. This observational study analyzes structural and technical factors influencing activity on 18 working farms. Data is based on 24.571 daily activity counts of a total of 641 dairy cows. The focus is on comparing newly built to converted barns. The type of construction project (newly built or converted) and the type of flooring (slatted floor or flat floor) had no significant influence on animal activity. In contrast, significant influences were found from grazing opportunity, measurement month, milking system, and parity. The results of the study suggest that well-implemented barn conversions are comparable to newly built barns in terms of the cows' movement opportunity.…