Physical accommodations for dairy cattle should provide
a relatively dry area for the animals to lie down in
and be comfortable (Cook et al., 2005) and should be
conducive to cows lying for as many hours of the day
as they desire. Recent work indicates that blood flow to
the udder, which is related to the level of milk production,
is substantially higher (28%) when a cow is lying
than when a cow is standing (Metcalf et al., 1992).