While many herds will already be housed for the winter, some farmers have been fortunate to still have cattle at grass.

However, housing will be fast approaching on these farms also. Following these 10 steps can help to improve cattle health at housing.

1. Shed alterations and repairs

Is ventilation in sheds adequate, or do you need to make changes?

Stale air and poor airflow increases the risk of pneumonia at housing. Use a smoke bomb or light a small quantity of straw and monitor smoke movement to assess airflow in a shed.

If the smoke has not cleared within five minutes of extinguishing the fire, you will need to take action to improve the airflow.

Are all lights and water troughs working? Cattle will have a high requirement for water, especially finishing cattle on high levels of meal feeding. Also, make sure all feed barriers and gates are in proper working order.

2. Clean housing

Make sure cattle housing has been thoroughly cleaned and washed with a power-hose. Once dry, you can disinfect walls and floors thoroughly.

Disinfectant is most effective when sheds are properly washed as soiled, organic matter will reduce the strength of the chemicals in the solution.

Make sure you have removed cobwebs from space boarding, roof tin and timbers. Dusting the shed with hydrated lime before housing cattle is also a good idea.

For autumn-calving herds, it is essential you keep on top of hygiene by cleaning out calf creeps and calving pens regularly.

3. Weaning

Ideally, spring-born calves should be weaned outdoors before they are housed to reduce the risk of pneumonia in the shed.

But if calves have to be weaned indoors, restrict calves to twice-per-day suckling for a week to 10 days.

Then restrict to once-per-day suckling and wean calves completely. This will help to keep both cow and calf settled by a gradual weaning process.

4. Target groups for housing

With heavy covers of grass present, some farmers are trying to keep as many cattle at grass as possible.

While this is understandable, you should still be planning to house some stock now so that you are not caught with too many cattle at grass if the weather breaks.

Finishing cattle that will be killed from December onwards should be housed as they will perform better on an indoor diet.

Autumn-calving cows would be better housed now and settled on to a steady diet. This will help to improve conception rates during the breeding season.

Housing smaller groups of cattle regularly over the next week is a better strategy than trying to house all stock on the same day when the weather breaks.

Housing smaller groups regularly will also reduce the risk of respiratory issues from stress and mixing of cattle.

5. House on a dry day

This is easier said than done as we do not control the weather. Housing cattle when they are wet can create serious health problems, especially in younger stock. Gradual housing as outlined will help to reduce the risks of having to house large numbers of cattle when the weather breaks.

6. Clip cattle

Clipping the backs of cattle as they are being housed will help to prevent animals from over-heating once penned indoors, especially if ventilation is poor.

It can also help to reduce problems with lice. Simply clip a strip about four to six inches wide on each side of the animal’s spine.

7. Group cattle to size

Group cattle based on size and body condition to ease feed management. For spring-calving cows, this makes it easier to hold or correct body condition.

With finishing cattle, do not overstock pens at housing, especially young bulls. Remember that young bulls can be gaining 1.5kg to 2kg/day of liveweight gain.

Therefore, for a group of eight 500kg bulls in a pen, every five weeks the group with have gained 560kg, which is the equivalent of adding an extra animal to the group.

Aim to group cattle based on finishing weight. Otherwise cattle performance will suffer as they grow. If you have to remove bulls later in winter because they are overcrowded this will create problems with bulls fighting once moved to a new pen.

8. Offer meals to young stock

Offering meals to young stock in the morning and evening will identity any animals that are at risk of developing pneumonia after housing. Sick animals will be slow to come forward and feed.

9. Cattle health

Is your worming programme up to date before housing? Are weanlings vaccinated?

Housing will increase stress levels and if cattle are carrying a heavy worm burden, they will most likely suffer from a respiratory problem after housing.

If cattle need to be wormed, talk to your vet to make sure you are using the most appropriate product before housing.

10. Fluke

Once cattle are housed, they will no longer be picking up worms or liver fluke. Therefore, you can treat all cattle for liver fluke and worms after housing on a set date.

How quickly you can dose will depend on the product you use. The longer you leave the period from housing until dosing, the more mature these parasites are, so make sure you choose the right product to use. Some fluke and wormer products will also provide cover for lice.