The Irish Farmers Journal visited the newly erected suckler shed in Blarney Estate, Co Cork. The shed was built to accommodate the growing suckler herd.

Having a well-designed shed can take a lot of work out of calving and make life easier for both man and beast. The new suckler shed is capable of holding over 60 suckler cows and their calves.

The main contractor was Liam Walsh from Kilmallock, Co Limerick, who did the concrete work, while O’Dwyer Steel from Dundrum, Co Tipperary, erected the shed. The penning was erected by O’Donovan Engineering in Cork. Cow numbers are expanding on the estate and more winter accommodation for the 130-cow spring-calving herd was needed.

Picture one (above)

The Limousin herd is all spring-calving. The shed is bright and airy and can hold 60 suckler cows and their calves. It is over 37m long and 12m wide.

Calves have access to the creep area at the back of the shed. Behind the creep area, there is a row of straw-bedded calving pens. Cows are usually held to the front on the slatted area.

The shed faces southwest, which is not ideal, and a windbreak may have to be erected next year to prevent rain blowing in on top of cattle.

Picture two

There are small LA Buvett drinkers throughout the shed, with steel protection to prevent animals from damaging it. This will also increase the lifetime of the drinker.

According to O’Donovans, the La Buvette Lac 55 drinker is a double-cast iron bowl with constant water level. Its valve is protected under a stainless steel cover to prevent any damage from livestock. This drinker has a drain plug to aid cleaning when required.

Pictures three and four

The slatted area is a little small and the farm manager believes if there was more feet either side, it would allow more space for cows.

The creep area didn’t necessarily need to be as big as it was and the farm manager believes this could have been reduced to allow more space for the cows.

There was a 14ft 6in slat used over an 8ft slurry tank. W and M Kiely Ltd from Blarney, Co Cork, produced the slats and Lisavaird Co-op supplied the mats.

A creep gate for calves can be adjusted to suit the size of calves by removing or adding the vertical bars as required (picture four).

Pictures five and six

The creep area is 4.69m x 3.59m. There is one calving gate for every two calving pens, which maximises safety around calving time.

When cows show signs of being ready to calve, they are separated from the rest of the cows in the slatted area and brought to a straw-bedded calving pen at the back of the shed. From here, they will hopefully calve themselves or they can be assisted via the calving gates.

There are two roller doors at the end of the shed that allow tractor access for cleaning the straw-bedded area. These doors can be left open to increase air movement and ordinary gates can be shut across these entrances when the large roller doors are open.

Picture seven

There is a slurry aeration system in the tank provided by Dairypower Equipment. The system is timed to work over two half-hour periods in 24 hours.

The aeration system consists of a series of plastic pipes that are laid out on the floor of the tank. The pipes are fixed to the floor using stainless steel bolts and brackets and all pipes are 50mm class D uPVC, so they should not corrode or degrade. The 3kW drive unit blows air to the different sections through the pipe networks. James Manley from Dairypower says this ensures uniform mixing and nutrient content throughout the tank, cutting out mechanical agitation.

Costs

The penning cost €22,000 plus VAT, and it would have cost €24,000 plus VAT supplied and installed. The penning was supplied by O’Donovan Engineering and is made from 4mm-thick steel. Stalls including the stub wall frames cost €4,500 plus VAT and stalls without the stub wall frames cost €250 less per bay.

Gyro stop gap

O’Donovans also has a Gyro stop gap on the market. The stop gap is light and easily transported around the yard to make handling cattle on your own much easier. It has one swivel wheel that changes direction to aid transport. It is lightweight and the specially designed weight system means it remains standing in the upright position. A 14ft-long model costs €170 excluding VAT (23%).