15 October 2019
Observing five important principles will help farmers keep cattle healthy at housing this winter.
During a series of Farming Connect-led events across Wales, livestock housing expert Jamie Robertson urged farmers to consider key criteria to assess if cattle housing is fit for purpose - hygiene, fresh air, temperature, air speed and moisture levels.
“What a building looks like is irrelevant, what does matter is that it works,’’ he said.
Mr Robertson suggested many older buildings are difficult to clean and this has implications for cattle health.
If interior walls aren’t rendered cleanliness is a challenge – if it is not possible to render walls to full height due to cost constraint it is adequate to apply to the lower half only.
Mr Robertson warned against a practice he has seen on many farms - housing sick cattle in calving pens. If there is spare capacity in this pen split it to keep the two groups separate.
Mr Robertson said farmers under-utilise their vets when it comes to advice on cleaning and disinfection.
“Farmers don’t talk to their vets enough about cleaning and disinfecting, they should,’’ he said.
Give attention to areas of moisture and damp in buildings as these allow bugs to thrive, triggering pneumonia and scours.
Maintaining guttering and downpipes is essential to control and manage dampness within buildings.
Good manure and straw management are also important, and floors that don’t drain well will never work properly until corrected.
Effective air inlets and outlets ensure there is enough fresh air entering buildings. “The drying effect of air flow inside buildings is essential to prevent accumulation of moisture,’’ said Mr Robertson.
Air speed is another balancing factor. Too much will lead to excessive energy loss and too little to lack of fresh air, allowing moisture and viruses to build up.
Mr Robertson recommended greater use of perforated wall cladding to eliminate draughts at animal height. “This could increase animal performance as energy losses can be controlled, which is especially important with young animals.’’
For farmers designing new buildings Mr Robertson said good advice was freely available from independent industry sources.
Sarah Hughes, Farming Connect Red Meat Technical Officer (South West Wales), said the over-arching message from this series of Farming Connect events was that correcting key weaknesses in housing can boost the productivity of stock.
“Good cattle housing can make a dramatic difference to welfare and productivity,’’ she said.
Farming Connect, which is delivered by Menter a Busnes and Lantra, is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and Welsh Government.