London Company Touts
Waterbeds For Cattle

LONDON — Every night, according to a marketing executive, 12 million cows go to bed hurting.

Kenneth Dangelo, a marketing executive with the UniPoly Group, the parent company of Atlanta Water Beds manufacturer Georgia Duck, says a British innovation which recently made its North American premier at Canada's Outdoor Farm Show can provide these cows comfort, hygiene and welfare.

"People usually mock it at first," says Chris Buckley, the bed's distributor. "They think it's a bit outlandish, overdoing it a bit for cows. But it's all about how the cows react to the benefits. The wear and tear on joints, the swelling and burning of hocks, is gone. We really believe this is the answer."

As the cows step onto the beds, water inside is displaced under each foot, providing stability. When they lie down, the water-filled area absorbs the impact on their knees as the surface conforms to an individual ergonomic shape corresponding to the cow's body and weight.

The London Free Press reports that there are about 15,000 such water beds in use in Europe, mostly for dairy cattle.

Earlier this year, Pasture Mat from Promat Ltd. introduced at the Western Fair Farm Show a bed for cattle stalls made of recycled automobile tire rubber. The Seaforth-based firm also developed the Poly Pillow, a corrugated, triangular plastic tube that replaces concrete or wooden barriers in traditional stalls, enabling cows to stretch out and not risk injury.