Table 9.

Strengths, weaknesses and hazards that contribute to poor welfare in straw yard systems

Strengths	Natural lying and lying down behaviours (Phillips and Schofield, 1994; Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001)
	Improved claw health and locomotion (Livesey et al., 1998; Somers et al., 2003; Haskell et al., 2006; Frankena et al., 2009; Rutherford et al., 2009)
	Improved leg and joint health (Haskell et al., 2006)
Weaknesses	Increased risk of dirty animals (Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001)
	Increased risk of impaired udder health (Barnouin et al., 2004, 2005; Fregonesi and Leaver, 2001; Peeler et al., 2000)
Hazards of reduced welfare	Poor hygiene of the lying areas (Fregonesi and Leaver, 2002; Barnouin et al., 2005)
	Inadequate space allowance (Fregonesi and Leaver, 2002)