We are still a long way off housing animals (hopefully) with grass supplies and grazing conditions never better throughout the vast majority of the country.

However, now is the time to ensure that winter housing is in full check while the farm is in a natural lull, with most of the summer work now having been completed.

It’s the one we discuss the most but it is also the one that is frequently gotten wrong. Clear signs of poor ventilation in animal housing are:

The month of October is probably the most time that farmers and vets will see issues with poorly ventilated sheds through outbreaks of pneumonia. To assess how well ventilated your shed is, use a smoke bomb (commonly used in testing leaks in chimneys) which you should be able to get at your heating and plumbing merchant.

Alternatively, you can light a small amount of paper or straw in a metal bucket and quench the fire within 30 seconds of lighting it.

From here, follow the smoke trail and see is the smoke able to exit the shed. If it swirls around the roof and comes back down again, then you have an outlet problem. This can be rectified by:

Another common issue with ventilation is air inlet spacing. Vented sheeting can be very poor at letting in adequate air where the void space (area of the holes in it) is low.

Ideally, you want vented sheeting to have a void space of 15% or greater, though some sheets are as low as 5%.

Yorkshire/spaced boarding on the sides of building is excellent to allow air to enter in a controlled manner, as is wind breaker cover.

Another option on some newer builds has been to extend the roof rafter and sheeting out over the edge of the shed to form a small canopy (usually less than 600mm) and leave a gap between the side sheeting and the roof sheeting to allow for an air inlet.

The extension of the roof out over the edge of the shed will prevent rain entering the building.

For dairy farmers, the minimum amount of cubicle space is one cubicle/cow.

Ideally, there should be an excess of cubicles as occupancy will never be at 100% due to some cows extending on to a second cubicle, some cubicles being at an exposed part of the shed etc.

Aim for 15% more cubicles than cows. Where cubicle spacing is tight, look at separating lighter cows or first calved heifers away from the main herd to prevent bullying.

In beef housing, ensure that the spacing set out in Table 1 is adhered to.

One of the main issues seen in lying space is not accounting for growth of cattle, particularly those on a finishing diet.

Where cattle are increasingly putting on weight, then the stocking rate of pens needs to be adjusted.

Separating cattle according to weight works well, with forward cattle fed harder, and once slaughtered this pen can then be used as an overflow from other pens.

This will work fine for all stock types once caution is exercised, but when it comes to young bulls, then it is necessary to keep them in their groups and avoid mixing.

This means penning bulls according to their projected sale weight.

Feed space is often a more limiting factor than lying space in pens, and again, it is often where we see bullying occur, with stronger, older cattle eating first and leaving the worst of the feed for weaker, lighter cattle. Table 1 contains the required feed space per animal according to size. As a general rule of thumb, each standard barrier length/bay of a shed will allow eight dairy, suckler or finishing animals to eat at the same time. In finishing sheds where there is feeding both sides of the pen, this means a maximum of 16 animals per bay.

For dairy buildings, a row of head-to-head cubicles will house eight cows per bay, which is ideal for feeding along one barrier.

Two rows of head-to-head cubicles or a single row combined with a double row will mean feeding on two sides of the shed; usually along the two lengths of the shed. Where there are more than two double rows, then feeding should be available on all four sides of the shed.

For sheep, it is important to remember that as ewes progress in pregnancy their size will increase and so should their feeding space. Walk through troughs are common in many farms and work well to increase feed space. Winter shearing ewes will also increase feeding and lying space, with approximately 15% more sheep being able to be housed in the same area as unshorn ewes.

Slats have a life expectancy of 15-20 years, though many farms can attest to them lasting over 30 years.

The general recommendation is to replace after this 20 year mark, as degradation of slats is generally seen from underneath rather than the upper surface of slats. For hygiene and inspection purposes, slats should be washed before rehousing animals, with the upper surface inspected for cracks.

Farmers are discouraged from entering in to empty slatted tanks, as pockets of gas can still exist within the tank itself. The safest way to complete an inspection of older slats is to ask a trusted slat supplier to inspect them for you if you feel they are close to replacing.

They will have the necessary equipment to inspect the slats in a safe manner and will advise on replacement. T

he cost to replace slats will depend on specification and size, but should be completed for approximately €1,700/bay. In the grand scheme of things with current cattle prices, one broken leg or one finished animal lost in a tank would make replacing slats a value for money investment.

Rubber matting is also another area that can be looked at, with previous articles on here showing that the return on investment is high with finishing animals due to increased carcase weights. At today’s current beef prices, slat rubber could pay for itself in as little as two years.

Take a quick look at the services running in to the shed. Ensure that all lighting is working, clean the lenses of the lighting and where necessary replace blown bulbs.

When replacing older fluorescent lighting, install LED lighting for lower energy costs and higher levels of brightness.

At high traffic areas such as crushes or loading bays, ensure adequate yard lighting is present. Check that all socket outlets are working, and where repairs are necessary, ensure a qualified electrician is used.

With regard to water, ensure that ball cocks in troughs are set at the correct level.

Tighten any loose fittings or replace where necessary. Install protective bars around water troughs where necessary to prevent damage from cattle rubbing off them.

There has likely never been an earlier harvest and straw baling is ongoing. Now is a good time to secure your straw requirements and buy from the field, as gathering and storing straw will incur an additional charge where it is done by the tillage farmer.

The general run of the mill pricing for straw is €25/bale, with repeat customers and larger buyers securing it for €2-€5/bale less.

Suckler or dairy cows will generally be housed on slats and cubicles, but when calving commences or for organic farmers, a calculation of between 1/3 and ½ a 4x4 round bale per week (50-75kg) should suffice.

Where cows are eating on slats away from the bedded area, approximately 40% of dunging and urination will occur here, so a reduced straw allowance can be factored in.

Store cattle over two years old will require approximately 55kg of straw per week, with yearlings only slightly lower at 46kg, while runners and autumn born weanlings above 250kg will require just under 30kg per week. Spring born dairy or suckler calves will require one small square bale/week or one 4x4 round bale/10 calves per week.

With sheep, a typical 4x4 round bale of straw weighing 140kg will generally be sufficient to provide bedding for 18 to 20 lowland ewes and 30 to 35 hill ewes for a week, and typically four to five bales need to be factored in for every 100 ewes for bedding lambing pens where ewes are turned out within 24 to 36 hours of delivering lambs.