When housing cattle for the winter, some farmers can often forget the importance that non-feed factors will have on the performance of their cattle over the duration of the housing period.
Teagasc’s DairyBeef 500 programme advisor, Gordon Peppard, reminds farmers of some of the key non-feed factors that will influence how their cattle performs during winter.
Overstocking cattle pens during the winter has been shown to reduce live weight gain by up to 20%, which will naturally result in a longer finishing time and a more expensive finishing period.
The Teagasc advisor explained that some of the key non-feed factors for farmers to keep in mind include:
- Cattle feed space;
- Pen size;
- Water availability;
- Animal health;
- Ventilation.
He continued: “Feed space for cattle should never be compromised in any situation.
“Farmers need to ensure that dairy-beef weanlings have at least 1.5 foot/head of feed space, while finishing cattle require over 2 foot/head of feed space.
“In a typical slatted pen with a 4.8m front, this will equate to approximately 10 weanlings or eight finishing cattle along the front of each bay of the shed.”
The table below outlines the minimum feed space allowances in mm/head:
Water drinkers are another important aspect of the shed that should checked for cleanliness and supply regularly.
“Animals should always have access to clean water. Water allowance is highly important to ensure cattle are able to achieve the required levels of feed intake. Drinker size and type will have a huge impact on this.
“Small nose-type drinkers are not suitable for finishing cattle that are on high-concentrate diets, as these cattle require high levels of water/head/day,” he continued.
Lying space over the winter
The Teagasc advisor said that finishing cattle require a minimum of 2.5m₂ in a slatted shed and dairy-beef weanlings require at least 1.5₂ meters of floor space.
The table below outlines the recommended lying space allowances for different types of cattle:
Parasite treatment is another factor which should be monitored. Liver fluke, worms and lice are the three main target parasites in cattle during the winter housing period.
The advice is to “ensure cattle are dosed at housing for all stages of liver fluke. Worms and lice should also be treated.”
Ventilation for cattle
Cattle sheds come in all shapes and sizes and different farmers have different preferences when it comes to ventilation for livestock.
A wide variety of shed designs mean that airflow and ventilation will differ greatly from farm to farm.
“All farmers should ensure their sheds have fresh air entering and stale air exiting through the apex of the roof.
“Vented sheeting may need to be cleaned prior to housing to ensure that vents are clear and allow air to flow through.”
Another simple factor that may easily be overlooked is the basic hygiene in the feed passage.
The Teagasc advisor noted: “A common sight on farms is feed passages where cattle eat their silage are not kept clean.
“New silage is often put on top of old silage which causes the old silage to rot and give off odors which will reduce animal intake, thrive and performance.”
He reminded farmers of the importance of cleaning feed passages before fresh silage is added.