Face hutch fronts south or east to provide draft protection during
winter and sun exposure during the day. Provide enough hutches to allow a
minimum of two weeks resting period after a calf is removed. Locate hutches
on a well drained area. Crushed rock or sand base provide a solid base for
bedding and lessen the possibility the hutch will freeze to the ground in
winter. After removing the calf, move the hutch to a clean site to break
disease cycles. Use enough bedding to keep calves clean and dry and to
insulate calves from the ground. To provide operator comfort, hutches may
be placed inside a well ventilated shed or structure, in effect providing a
cold housing environment in winter and shade in the summer, Fig 3.
Individual Pen in Cold Housing
Individual calf pens, Fig 4, can be used inside a cold housing
building. Pens are typically 4'x7' and removable. They provide isolation
for each calf. Solid partitions between pens and beyond the front of the
pen prevent nose-to-nose contact. A hover or cover on the back half of the
pen gives the calf additional protection in especially drafty locations.
Pens use building space more efficiently than do calf hutches, although
increasing animal density increases ventilation requirements. Place pens on
a crushed rock base or concrete floor to provide a base for bedding.
Individual pens require the same type of management as calf hutches.
Individual Stall in Warm Housing
Use individual 2'x4' stalls only in warm housing. This system requires
the least space per calf, but must be used in insulated, environmentally
controlled buildings with mechanical ventilation and supplemental heat.
Drafts, which occur in elevated stalls with open floors for drainage,
are detrimental to calf health. The incidence of calf disorders increases
in warm housing facilities after several years, due in part to warm
temperatures. Warm temperatures increase viability of disease organisms.
The facility must be adequately ventilated and sanitized on a routine
basis. Good ventilation, proper sanitation and careful observation of
calves are especially essential in warm housing systems to reduce disease.
Table 7. Dairy ventilating rates. Size the system based on total building
capacity.
| |Ventilating rates |
|Animal |Cold |Mild |Hot |
| |Weather[8] |Weather |weather |
| |cfm/animal |
|Calves 0-2 months |15 |50 |100 |
|Heifers | | | |
|2-12 months |20 |60 |130 |
|12-24 months |30 |80 |180 |
|Cow 1,400 lb |50 |170 |470 |
|Room |Cfm |
|Milkroom |— |— |600 |
|Milking parlor, |— |100 |400 |
|cfm/stall | | | |
Transition housing (3-5 months)
Moving a newly weaned calf from an individual pen to a small group
environment is an abrupt change or transition. The combination of stresses
due to new social interactions with other calves, competition for feed and
water, and a new housing system can seriously affect calf growth and
performance.
Giving special consideration to the calf's environment can make this
transition less stressful as the calf adjusts to group living and learns to
compete. Monitor calves for adequate dry feed and water intake and make
sure calves are disease free before moving them into a group pen.
Provide transition housing for calves from weaning to 5 months of age.
Maintain small groups of 4-5 calves per group with a small range in size or
age (I month maximum). Provide well bedded pens that allow 25-30 ft2 of
resting space per calf. Have fresh water available at all times. Transition
housing should provide an environment similar to calf hutches only in a
group setting. Depending on herd size and the ability to observe an
individual calf, the maximum group size would be 20 calves.
Calf Shelter or Super Hutch
Portable shelters or super hutches can provide transition housing for
calves from cold housing. A super calf hutch is designed for up to six
calves, Fig 5. An optional paved lot and addition of a fenced area can be
used with the super hutches, Fig 6. Keep the shelter well bedded and
alternate the hutch site between groups of calves. In a pasture system the
super hutch can be rotated on the pasture, Fig 7. Waterers can be centrally
located or moved with the hutch site.
Transition Barn
For herds greater than 100 milking cows, a series of 10'x24' pens can
be used in a «transition barn» for calves up to six months old, Fig 8.
Capacity for this arrangement is six animals if the feed alley is scraped
and eight animals if the entire pen is bedded.
Transition barns commonly have a 3:12 single slope roof with no
insulation. The barns should open to the south or east to take advantage of
the sunlight. The eave in the back wall is open to aid in moisture control
in the winter. During summer remove fabric or other coverings on the back
and endwalls for natural ventilation. Extend both ends of the barn 4'
beyond the pen fronts to minimize wind effects at the corners of the barn
during cold weather. Locate waterers in the feed manger line to minimize
splashed water in the bedded area.
To minimize excessive drafts in long barns, attach plywood to gates and
hang fabric from the underside of the roof down to the gate between
alternate pens. During cold weather, place straw bales along the bottom
edge of the gates to stop drafts. Remove bales during warm weather.
Calf Barn
Calf barns combine individual pens, Fig 4, and transition group pens
for calves into one building design, Fig 9. A full open sidewall with
curtain provides cross ventilation in summer and draft protection in the
winter. The upper half of the building can be a pivot door or curtain for
draft protection in winter. The lower part of the wall can have removable
panels for better summer ventilation. Air movement through the building
should be sufficient to maintain inside temperature only slightly above
outside temperature in the winter and slightly below outside temperature in
summer.
Use solid partitions between calves to prevent nose to nose contact.
Wire fences on fronts and backs of pens allow better air circulation during
warm weather, but arrange pens to keep calves from contacting each other.
In winter, use solid pen backs to provide draft protection. Hovers may be
needed in winter. Choose or construct pens that are easily dismantled for
manure removal.
Heifer housing (6-24 months)
There are several options for housing heifers after transition housing.
Regardless of housing type, group animals according to a management plan
considering nutritional, health and reproductive needs of each group. At a
minimum, a logical break in grouping is a breeding age group and a bred
heifer group.
The primary functions of heifer housing are to:
> Minimize animal handling for treatment.
> Allow for animal breeding.
> Allow for animal observation.
Even though heifers can tolerate more stress as they grow older, they
still must be protected from wet conditions, drafts, and poor environment.
In open front housing, provide group pens of sufficient depth to protect
heifers from winter winds. Solid pen partitions help reduce drafts.
Freestall Housing
Young heifers are grouped in freestall housing with stalls sized
according to age or size of heifer, Table 4. Freestall housing requires
considerably less bedding than bedded pack housing. Frequent manure removal
is required (once or twice a week), unless floors are slotted. Frozen
manure can be a problem in cold barns, but is manageable.
There are several different layouts that can be used in freestall
housing. Each alternative is suited to particular feeding and manure
handling situations. Each alternative has adequate feedbunk space, Table 6.
Freestalls can be inside with outside lots for exercise and feeding. The
trend is having freestalls and feeding included under the building roof or
confined area. Outside exercise lots may still be provided for use during
periods of good weather.
Two-row freestall barn
Two-row freestall barns are typically used for up to 100 heifers, Fig
10. Freestall length for each group in Table 4 is sized to provide maximum
comfort for the size of animal in the group. Heifers are grouped in pens
around the perimeter of the building.
Manure is either scraped automatically, the alley is slotted or
flushed, because it is not possible to move animals during tractor
scraping. When animals have access to outside runs, tractor scraping can be
accomplished. Build an 8' alley when a feed cart is used. For drive-through
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