Bedding and Lying Comfort for Housed Livestock

Adequate bedding is fundamental to the welfare of housed livestock, enabling comfortable lying, reducing lameness, and maintaining cleanliness, yet many systems provide insufficient bedding.

Key Facts

Cows require 9-12 hours of lying time per day; discomfort reduces lying time significantly
Cows on deep-bedded straw show longer lying times and lower rates of hock injuries than those on concrete
Bedded pack systems allow cows to express lying and rising naturally without physical constraints
Pig welfare is significantly improved by straw bedding that enables rooting and nest building
EU organic standards require bedding for all housed livestock but conventional standards vary widely

Welfare Considerations

Lying comfort is one of the most direct and measurable welfare outcomes for housed livestock. Cows that cannot lie comfortably stand for longer, develop hock injuries, and show hormonal stress responses that affect reproduction and health. The link between bedding quality and lying behaviour is so well established that lying time monitoring is used as a welfare indicator in farm assurance systems. For pigs, bedding serves both comfort and behavioural needs: rooting and nest-building behaviours that cannot be expressed on bare concrete floors can be expressed in straw, significantly improving both physical and psychological welfare.

What You Can Do

Support standards requiring adequate bedding for all housed livestock
Choose animal products from farms certified as providing bedded lying areas
Advocate for conventional cattle housing standards that match organic bedding requirements
Visit farms to understand the difference between bedded and bare concrete housing
Donate to organisations researching optimal bedding materials and management for livestock welfare