Everyone knows the satisfaction of having an itch scratched, and researchers at the University of British Columbia say cows appear to feel the same way.

A study from the animal welfare program at the school found dairy cows want to use a scratching brush just as much as they want to access fresh feed.

The programsa国际传媒檚 Prof. Marina von Keyserlingk, one of six co-authors of the report, said in nature, cows are outside and use trees and other abrasive surfaces to scratch themselves. But when theysa国际传媒檙e kept in a barn, scratching is almost impossible.

A scratching brush looks similar to a small bristled roller in a car wash. When the animal steps into or under the brush, it automatically begins rolling.

While researchers found that the cows liked using the brush for an average of seven minutes a day, they werensa国际传媒檛 sure how important it was to get that scratch.

The researchers used a preference test for the cows and it showed they were willing to push through a weighted barrier to gain access to the brush just as much as they were willing to push through for fresh feed, von Keyserlingk said.

sa国际传媒淵ou know what itsa国际传媒檚 like to have an itch in those hard-to-get places,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淪o this allows them to really groom those hard-to-get places.sa国际传媒�

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Von Keyserlingk said they found the brush appeared to help the cattle reduce stress.

sa国际传媒淔or me, what I also think about is if shesa国际传媒檚 super itchy and she cansa国际传媒檛 alleviate that itch, it could be that she could be really frustrated,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淲e donsa国际传媒檛 know what a frustrated cow necessarily looks like, because we havensa国际传媒檛 really looked in this context, but it could actually improve her emotional state.sa国际传媒�

Published in the journal Biology Letters on Wednesday, the study says in some countries, including Denmark, providing cows with access to resources that promote coat care is mandatory.

sa国际传媒淐attle with access to mechanical brushes are clean and spend about fivefold more time grooming compared with when brushes are not available, suggesting that these brushes are important to the cow,sa国际传媒� the study says.

sa国际传媒淚 think brushes should be part of standard management practice, standard housing systems,sa国际传媒� von Keyserlingk said.

She said they arensa国际传媒檛 sure why the cows like to groom themselves. It could be to get rid of dirt or, just like most mammals, they get itchy once in a while.

In the past, science has tended to focus on animal welfare by looking at all animals, but von Keyserlingk said that this study looks deeper.

sa国际传媒淲e know that not all animals are identical and so Isa国际传媒檓 really interested in this individual variation. Because itsa国际传媒檚 the individual animal that has the ability to suffer. So looking at these types of things, we can get a better insight into individual differences.sa国际传媒�

She couldnsa国际传媒檛 say that if a farmer added the brushes to their barn, they might have an increase in milk production, but the cattle could be more comfortable.

sa国际传媒淚 think that theresa国际传媒檚 a growing body of evidence now that having these brushes is good for the cows.sa国际传媒�

Terri Theodore , The Canadian Press

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