You may have seen the recent news about Veronika, the dairy cow that learned to use a broom to scratch herself. Brushes are a great way to provide enrichments and are a valued resource for cattle, goats, pigs and many other species.

Making sure an animal’s environment is well resourced is essential to providing a life worth living. Deciding what counts, where and how to provide a resource can be a challenge.

Brushes are the most common form of enrichment we see for lactating dairy cattle. We see them used less in beef cattle and younger dairy cattle and have only recently been exploring their use in pigs.
If you are thinking about giving your cattle or pigs brushes here are our answers to some frequently asked questions. Download our All About Brushes handout for detailed information.

What type of brush should I get?

There are many variations and options when it comes to brushes. The biggest differences are in price, and how much the brush can be manipulated by the animal. Here are the basic types along with USD price ranges. You can certainly save money with DIY versions:

1. Anywhere Brush ($25-$50 ea.)
2. Rubber Scratchy ($150-200)
3. Spring Brush ($90-$470 ea.)
4. Totem Brush ($1,500-$1,800)
5. Swing Brush ($850-$900)
6. Motorized Brush ($2,200-$3,500)

How many brushes do I need?

General recommendations are 1 brush for every 75-100 animals. Much will depend on the design of the area. If more animals per brush, the brush will wear more quickly and need to be replaced sooner. The key determinate is to watch them use it. If there are too many wanting to use it at the same time, creating aggression then you may want to add another brush if you have the space for it.

Where should I put the brush?

Before you install a brush, you should make sure your animals do not have mites or ring worm. You don’t want to contaminate the brush and spread mites or ring worm to the other cattle.

The better question may be where NOT to install the brush.

• You want to avoid areas at or near exit or entrance lanes and dead ends, so that you don’t block traffic and allow animals an escape route.
• Placing the brush on an outside alley post will attract cows away from the entrance and down the alley.
• Wherever you place it, it needs to be attached to sturdy beam or post, avoid gates. Alley posts and crossover beams are usually sturdy enough.
• Post holes should be sunk 4 feet deep with a 12in diameter concrete reinforcement.