Aquastar Ultimate Combi Waterbeds

The 240 boxes of dairy farmer Bart de Kruijf from Werkhoven were equipped with the Aquastar Ultimate Combi Waterbed last year. 'The cows step into the box and immediately lie down. There is no longer any question of standing for long periods of time.'

Dairy farmer Bart de Kruijf had seen it for a while with his cows: many cows with thick hocks and cows that stood too much instead of lying down. It was not that surprising, according to the young entrepreneur. 'The front part of the stable dates from 1998, there was a rubber mat of one and a half centimeters in it. The stable was extended in 2009 and the new cubicles were fitted with a rubber mat with studs. That did not give the cow any comfort.' Bart started to orientate himself. 'A deep litter box provides a lot of comfort, but introducing the bedding and maintaining it also requires man-hours. Moreover, it is a considerable investment.'

First dry cows

Bart tries to run the dairy farm with around 200 dairy cows himself as much as possible, so as to be as dependent on others as possible. 'If I'm milking myself, I don't have time to fill the boxes. If you want to do that at another time, you have to move all the cows.' As a cost-conscious farmer, he was actually looking for an alternative with less work and the same comfort. At a trade fair he bumped into Douwe Soepboer from DSD and was introduced to the idea of ​​the Aquastar Waterbeds. 'Douwe suggested that we first provide the 28 boxes for the dry cows with waterbeds, just to try it out. If they didn't like it, they could leave immediately,' says Bart, who quickly saw a difference. 'There were more cows and they lay longer. Actually, I only saw the cows doing two things: lying down or eating.' And he signaled something else. 'Cows lie with their front leg forward, so they lie relaxed in the box.'

Boxes fully occupied

Bart immediately made follow-up plans with DSD to also provide the dairy cow stalls with an Aquastar Waterbed in four phases. 'As soon as the waterbeds are in, the cows know immediately. Those boxes are fully occupied. The cows wait until a spot becomes available and then lie down. The cows will tell you," says Bart, who also had to adjust the distribution of the feed in the feeding alley. 'Because the cows are all in the part of the stable near the new waterbeds, the feed was used up there first.' The cows are lying better, he sees. 'They get into the box and immediately lie down. There is no longer any question of standing for long periods of time.' Moreover, the cows lie down longer. 'And a cow that lies down longer produces more milk, is more efficient and healthier.' The load on the hind legs is less because they lie more. "They are less bothered by thick heels," he notes. 'I hope the cow's lifespan will also increase.'

Waterbed with latex mattress

The last boxes were equipped with the new waterbeds at the end of July. For this purpose, the dairy farmer removed the boxes and mats from the stable, sprayed everything clean and thus created space to easily install the new waterbeds, the boxes and also a serrated wither tree. 'It was very pleasant to work with DSD. They make clear agreements and keep them.' Bart explains what appealed to him so much about this waterbed. 'The special thing about this waterbed is that it also has a latex mattress. The latex mattress is soft and the water fills around the cow. This means that it comes close to a deep litter box in terms of comfort and for me as a livestock farmer it is less work," he says while explaining the cleaning method. 'The manure does not stick to a waterbed, so it is easy to keep clean. Thanks to the sawdust system in the stable, I always have clean sawdust which I distribute over the boxes and I sprinkle lime to absorb moisture and reduce bacterial pressure. Ultimately, the waterbeds are more than worth the investment.'