PEOVEREYE
EX95
Global user
Registered: 02-2005
Posts: 607
Karma: 6 (+6/-0)
|
 | 
|
|
Loose housing
Anyone on here genuinely have 100% straw yards /loose housing for dairy cows and believe they have got it right?
If they have and i hope someone has .
Whats the building design ? ie dimensions fall water trough location etc
whats the area per cow?
Straw per cow?
Any unheard of magic tricks?
above all is your mastitis occurrence and cell count ok?
Thankyou in advance it could soon be very relelvant.
|
|
4/4/2008, 16:58
|
|
foxleigh
Ex97
True blue dinky-di maverick
Global user
Registered: 06-2003
Location: southern,oz
Posts: 1997
Karma: 20 (+20/-0)
|
|
|
|
|
Loose housing
bill stolzfus of idaho has his milkers on straw.He has a long 3 sided shed that he beds deeply.in front of the shed is a yard as long as the shed and probably 5 times as wide.it has immeadiate acess to both the dairy yard,the laneway and the feedbunk area.so he can bed while they feed.floor under straw is dirt.Basic ,practical and cheap to build and maintain.
|
|
5/4/2008, 21:01
|
|
bauldy
VG86
Global user
Registered: 01-2008
Posts: 73
Karma: 1 (+1/-0)
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Loose housing
expecting rain is right !!
also - you will need 2 tonnes straw / cow of good wheat or barley straw for 200 day winter if you stock at 1750 litres / sguare metre. At this stocking rate you need a good straw spreader that does NOT chop the straw and you must spread at least daily and muck out every month. Keep mastitis cases seperate ! Try to get the cows into a routine where they go onto the beds after they have been milked(and stand after milking) and have eaten fresh feed so that they are not being forced to continually get up and down. This will help stop the bed being trampled and soiled needlessly.
|
|
6/4/2008, 5:55
|
|
PEOVEREYE
EX95
Global user
Registered: 02-2005
Posts: 607
Karma: 6 (+6/-0)
|
|
|
|
|
Loose housing
Good points in the farm assurance file the minimum area is way less than that so i guessing that is a real minimum and the above is more the ideal . BAULDY i wa expecting more straw than that it isnt as much more than filling cubicles with sand in terms of cost and i sure everyone has a casualty due to cubicle injury etc that straw yard might not its juist SCC that bother me . Do you think 3 times a day milking keeps the pressure off teats so less environment infection so lower SCC?
FOXLEIGH that would be the ideal RIVERDANE have a loose yard for show cows with a massive access yard however the reason i ask is we have got to do away with dirty water as much as possible as here in the UK we have to catch and store all the run off from stock yards so here with 40 inch rainfall ver the sixe of yard you talking is alot of water to catch store then spread . I more thinking cows never going outside so no rainwater to catch.
|
|
6/4/2008, 18:25
|
|
bauldy
VG86
Global user
Registered: 01-2008
Posts: 73
Karma: 1 (+1/-0)
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Loose housing
straw is not the perfect answer. I have some cubicles also. I have seen cubicle systems with the latest state of the art equipment (i.e mats, scrapers , slats etc)that keep cows cleaner but in my situation ,on arable (grain growing) land straw works !
|
|
7/4/2008, 10:17
|
|
noname25
VG86
Global user
Registered: 10-2006
Posts: 81
Karma: 0 (+0/-0)
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Loose housing
We use loose housing for:
Old Cows
Fresh cows
Fresh/Most heifers
Lame cows
Uddery Cows
We have only loose housed for a year but will now keep a shed for loose housing.
I helps lame cows no end! and they love it! Go out at night and it looks like a bomb went off,, all lying flat out and they average a few more litres in loose house.
Cell counts seem fine - around 70-80. We spray cubicles and loose with peracetic acid a few times a month. lime every day and staw in loose HEAVILY. It works but i would never go all loose house. Too labour intensive. i do still prefer a clean cubicle for "normal" mid lact cow. Like i said though undoubtedly the cows prefer loose eventhough cubicles are 4ft by 9ft and super comfort dunlop.
either way cows stay clean.
I think Richard Bound,, ( i think thats his name, so so sorry if not) from richaven uses loose house for everything?? and from what i remember swears by it? sorry i couldnt be quoted but if it works for him then it must be ok. He's got a pretty decent herd!!! A real case where horses for courses.
Loford Holsteins
|
|
7/4/2008, 22:18
|
|
redrobin
VG85
Global user
Registered: 04-2008
Posts: 65
Karma: 1 (+1/-0)
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Loose housing
We have all loose housing,originally because of slurry storage limitations and fairly close proximity to a river,but cows always look comfortable on a straw bed,cell counts may be more of an issue than with cubicles and cows may not lie as clean especially at start of winter,but in my opinion there are three key points,don't skimp on straw,clean out regularly and last but by no means least,don,t overcrowd with too many cows for the space.
|
|
24/4/2008, 20:48
|
|
click here to give a full reply or use the box below for a quick reply
Powered by AkBBS 0.9.5b - Link to us
- Blogs
- Hall of Honour
- Chat
Click here to get your own free message board
|
You are not logged in (login)
Board's time is: 8/1/2009, 9:41
|
|
|
