Sand is widely considered the best bedding for udder health and cow comfort. Sand is inorganic and has been reported to have lower bacterial numbers than organic bedding. The rate of gram negative mastitis has been correlated with the number of bacteria in the bedding (Hogan, et al., 1989) and the number of bacteria on the teat end is related to the number of bacteria in the bedding (Rendos et al., 1975, Hogan et al., 1989). Designing management systems using sand should result in less teat end exposure to environmental pathogens and less environmental mastitis. Sand is incompatible with many traditional manure systems. Recent advances in manure handling technology have enabled sand to be separated from manure either by mechanical or gravity systems. The separated sand is then reused in the free stalls. There are potential economic, animal welfare and environmental advantages of using recycled sand if it is a safe bedding material. However, there is limited data on the safety of recycled sand. Theobjective of this study was to compare bacterial counts, organic matter, and dry matter in both recycled (RS) and clean sand (CS) in dairy free stall facilities, from the time the sand was taken off the pile until the free stalls were rebedded with sand7 days later.
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