One stop shop for calving and calf rearing

With over 300 cows to calve down on the Downey family farm in Golden, Co Tipperary, springtime is a very busy period. Tom Downey, his father Liam and herd manager Jacob Sievewright run Goldenamber Dairy Farm with some extra help brought in for calf rearing.

In 2017, it was becoming apparent that facilities were not good enough for the expanding dairy enterprise.

“We were calving cows in two sheds; one was an old milking parlour and the other was an old haybarn and they had to be cleaned out with a sprong,” Tom recalled.

Calves were reared in hay sheds that were one hundred years old and were in a pretty poor state. Tom’s wife Ruth suggested that calving and calf-rearing facilities really needed to be prioritised as the next big investment on the farm. The family agreed it had got to the stage that the investment was needed so they got some draft plans drawn up through Tom Ryan and Kevin Barron in Teagasc.

After showing the plans to their discussion group, some more modifications were made. They also looked at some calving and calf sheds locally. When they were happy with the design, their local engineer submitted the planning application.

One-stop shop for calving and calf rearing.

The prerequisite when drawing up the plans was the need for a large space for holding cows on the point of calving that is easily cleaned, a place to feed these cows easily, an area to assist cows calving safely and a place to rear calves.

Figure 1 shows the layout agreed. They decided to go with one large shed that could meet all of those requirements rather than a number of individual sheds.

The large shed was then divided into three main areas: a slatted feeding area, a loose shed for calving with some individual pens and the third area was earmarked for calf rearing.

Work on the new facilities started in July 2018 and it was just finished on time for calving in 2019. The Irish Farmers Journal visited the farm last week to see the new development. Paul Bergin Steel and Concrete from Cashel, Co Tipperary, did the majority of the work building the shed, Anthony Hanley did the site preparation and Michael Cregan did the electrical work.

Pictures one and two

The shed is 38.7m (126ft) long and 18.7m (61ft) wide in total. It is 7.6m (25ft) high at the apex and 4.4m (14ft) at the eaves. This makes it quite a high, airy building.

The first area visitors see on approach is the feeding area.

This is just off the calving area and is slatted. Cows on the point of calving have free access to this area and are fed silage at the diagonal barriers. It has 14ft 6in slats that were supplied by Corbett Concrete. The tank here is 2.7m (9ft) deep. A separate slatted feeding area off the main calving area is a good idea because it helps to keep the straw bedded area cleaner for longer.

Picture three

The calving area was designed carefully. The main area is accessible via a large sliding door at the side of the shed. The main area is 9.6m wide (two standard bays). Cows getting close to calving are drafted daily from the cubicle shed to this area. It is straw bedded and cleaned out regularly to avoid disease build- up. Most cows will calf unaided in this area.

If assistance is required, another bay is kitted out with three calving pens with two calving gates available. A mass concrete wall separates the calving area from the calf-rearing area. Calves are removed from the calving area and easily transferred to the calf rearing area through small gates.

Pictures four and five

The calf-rearing area is comprised of eight separate pens with a central passage to aid feeding. The pens adjoining the calving area are the smallest (7.2m [23ft] x 4.6m [15ft]) as they accommodate the younger calves. Approximately 20 calves can be housed in each of these pens. The back of the pens are straw-bedded while the front is left unbedded because this area can become wet and dirty where the calf feeds. Removable timbers help to keep the straw in place here.

There is a fall of 1:40 in the pens to allow urine to drain into the flow channels at the central passage. The flow channels are connected to a sump that is piped underground to the slatted tank at the other end of the shed.

This year, Tom has built makeshift “hotboxes” out of small square bales of straw and each box has an infrared light.

“Last year, some of our young calves got chills (accelerated breathing and high temperatures) in the shed. Our vet diagnosed it as cold calf syndrome,” Tom said.

The vet told Tom that because the shed is so high and airy the calves were not able to create enough body heat to warm the area and that is why they were getting chills. He suggested building hot boxes for the young calves to avoid the problem in the future. The side of the sheds in the calf area are fitted with Yorkshire boarding to help improve inlet airflow.

The central passage in the calf-rearing area is 2.5m (8ft) wide. On the other side of the passage there are three larger pens that can cater for 25 calves each. As calves get older, they are moved into the larger pens. These pens are 9.6m (31ft) long x 4.6m (15ft) wide.

Picture six

There is a 200l water heater in the new calf-rearing area that always has hot water available for heating colostrum or mixing milk replacer. Tom has just purchased a new 500l milk feeder from Stradbally Farm Services with the aid of the new 40% Calf Investment Scheme grant.

The tanker can carry and mix colostrum or milk powder and comes with a fast-fill system. He will pump milk from this tank into compartment calf feeders hanging in the pens.

The mixing and pumping system is powered by a Honda petrol engine. Tom hopes this will help speed up feeding times in the new shed. A 500l tank is retailing at €5,350 excluding VAT.

In total, the new shed cost €140,000 excluding VAT. A tool shed, a general purpose store and a canteen were also built alongside the shed and they are included in that cost. The Downeys are delighted how everything turned out and Tom says it has brought many benefits.

“Our calf-rearing capacity has increased, the danger of a cow calving in the cubicles has lessened and it is a pleasurable place to work,” he explained.