Maintaining a high level of hygiene in calf sheds is important in order to keep calves healthy and reduce the amount of sickness on the farm.
Most dairy farms are at the stage when they have the largest number of calves on the farm and thus there is an increased risk of disease or sickness breaking out among them.
Because of this, it is important to keep hygiene levels in the calf shed high at present, by cleaning it out on a regular basis.
Calf shed
The majority of calves will be housed in sheds on straw beds and the only way to keep the bed of straw dry is to keep the straw fresh, and clean out the shed regularly.
A calf lying on a wet bed of straw will struggle to maintain their body temperature, which can lead to increased sickness.
How often the shed is cleaned out will depend on several factors. To check if your shed needs cleaning, use the ‘knee test’ method.
This involves simply kneeling in the straw bed; if your knees are wet, the bed needs fresh straw or to be cleaned out.
During this period when there is a high number of calves in shed it will need to be cleaned out more often.
It is also important that you keep the bedding in the calving shed fresh and if it is a large straw-bedded pen that is it cleaned out regularly.
Hygiene
When cleaning out the sheds, it is important to try and control the bacteria that may be present in the shed.
Lime should be spread on the floor before fresh straw is put down. Using water will only aid the bacteria to grow and spread.
You should also be ensuring that all the calf-feeding equipment is kept clean and thoroughly cleaned after each use.
Ideally, you should not be using the same feeder in a number of pens, but if you are it should be cleaned between each use.
On farms that have automatic feeders it is important to check that they are cleaned properly. You should also be checking the teats for damage daily.