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On many farms around the country, sheds are designed with farmer comfort in mind rather than animal comfort. Cattle were bred for the outdoors. Their natural habitat is outdoors and in the wild are able to find shelter and food to survive. Intensification and modern farming methods have resulted in sheds being built to house animals during the winter months to provide food, shelter, environmental protection and reduced labour.
Winter housing is a stressful time for animals and we need to be aware of this when designing animal housing and engaging in winter housing management. On some farms, year on year, animals don’t perform to their maximum potential. This can be due to a number of factors including animal disease, nutrition or inadequate ventilation. In some cases this can be due to inadequate feeding space and inadequate lying space. On a farm where stocking rate is increasing, its important that shed space increases in line with animal numbers. This year, particularly in the southeast where fodder is scarce and concentrates are being fed, having adequate feeding space could be an issue.
Table 1 outlines the lying space requirements for different classes of stock. Suckler cows with calves at foot take up the most area, with 4-5 m2 required per cow/calf unit, while light weanlings need 1.5m2 to 2m2.
If we take a look at an example of the number of animals that can lie in a standard 4.8m bay with a 12ft 6in slat and 1ft space at a feed barrier at the back of the slat. There are many different sizes of sheds and bays on farms. You need to measure the length and width of pens and calculate the area to determine the number of animals you can comfortably house.
Feeding space requirements
While there may be enough lying space in pens, feeding space can often be the limiting factor on farms, especially where meal is being fed. On farms where fodder is scarce, this could be the first time meal has had to be fed to cows. Feeding space requirements are important as lighter animals such as first-calved heifers can get bullied in pens. This can result in these animals having restricted access to feed, reduced weight gain and below-target body condition scores. Table 2 outlines the feeding space requirements for different types of cattle.
What can I do if I haven’t enough feeding space?
On some farms, minor amendments have been made to increase feeding space allowance. If there is a yard next to the slatted shed, some farmers are letting out cows once a day to feed meal in troughs in the yard. If creep areas are not being used until spring, sometimes these areas can double up as feed areas for finishing cattle. Adequate space allowance is critical where meal is being fed and less important where ad-lib silage is being kept up to the feed barrier. If feed space is limiting, it’s important to house animals according to weight to avoid bullying.
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