Thoughts of housing stock may feel around the corner and it will be good policy to assess how those sheds perform over the next 6 or so months.

Most farm buildings merely evolve and can create an environment where sharing air spaces may not physically happen because the sheds are not attached.  However, the micro-climate of a farm means that air flow can be disrupted in many ways.  This is best highlighted on those damp, still November and February days where everything is under pressure and unfortunately it is then that your shed still needs to operate fully to ensure your stock have the chance to fight off the main housing ‘problem’ of pneumonia.

So do we blame the weather, the shed, the stock, or the manager?   Well it could be any of them but to assess your shed there are some basic rules of thumb that can be applied.

Shed assessment:

1. Floor stocking rate – these are rarely a problem due to walkways and feed areas
2. Air spaces – these alter rapidly as calves grow a:
   • 60kg calf requires just 6m³
   • 100kg calf requires 10m³
   • 150kg calf requires 15m³
3. Shed outlet – this can be a complex thing to get right (and potentially dangerous to modify as it will involve the roof) so must be carried out safely. There are calculations that can be carried out and they must be carried out carefully if a new ridge is planned.  A simple assessment of the current ridge means that a good rule of thumb is 5cm of ridge opening per 3m of shed width can be used.
4. Shed inlet – this needs to be above stock height to prevent drafts and can be worked out at providing double the outlet area

After these other management factors can be assessed, the moisture in the atmosphere is important – bedding quality, floor drainage, feeding regime will all clearly have a strong influence here and ultimately you need to sit where the calf sits.  If it is musty, draughty, too cold, too hot and after a few minutes if your overalls are wet it may be wise to make alterations to shed design and management.  Those alterations need not cost a fortune but ultimately an even bunch of well grown healthy animals is what counts and it’s what makes a shed and the associated management costs pay.

For more information contact Chris Coxon chriscoxon@fcgagric.com or your local FCG office.