sucklers on slats

tedandbetty

any one keep sucklers on standard slats?
if the calves have acces to a straw bed how do they get on with the slatted area?

would young calves be ok on the slats?

reilig

tedandbetty wrote: »

any one keep sucklers on standard slats?
if the calves have acces to a straw bed how do they get on with the slatted area?

would young calves be ok on the slats?

We keep all our sucklers on slats. However we have calving pens for all and try not to calve anything on the slats because it is dangerous enough. Calves over a week old are fit to go onto slats so long as you have a dry area/creep/cubicles for them to lie down.

wiggy123

true..need a dry/lay by area for calves...along with the slats....calves need there comfort

blue5000

I'm building a feed passage for sucklers with calves at the moment, anyone got any tips on how to keep calves off the silage and on the slats. Have a straw bedded shed with diagnal bars in the feed barrier but didn't work last year, I don't want to spend 4-500 yoyo on locking headrails/bay either.

leg wax

blue5000 wrote: »

I'm building a feed passage for sucklers with calves at the moment, anyone got any tips on how to keep calves off the silage and on the slats. Have a straw bedded shed with diagnal bars in the feed barrier but didn't work last year, I don't want to spend 4-500 yoyo on locking headrails/bay either.

keep the feed passage lower than out side where the silage is

reilig

blue5000 wrote: »

I'm building a feed passage for sucklers with calves at the moment, anyone got any tips on how to keep calves off the silage and on the slats.

There's a simple fix for to keep calves in. The bottom rail of your feeding barrier is approx 2 foot off the ground, so it is easy for calves to jump through it. You need to run a steel bar or a piece of timber about 6 inches above the bottom rail. It needs to be hung from the top rail of the barrier using a rope. By doing this, you will have a bar/plank fixed six inches up the barrier so that when a calf pushes against it to jump out, the bar on the rope will be flexible and move out with him and prevent him from getting out because as it is pushed out under their neck, it raises up and they cannot get across it. . The idea of tieing it with the rope is for safety so that if an animal puts their head under it, it will move with them. Have have had this on my barriers for 10 years now and it is 100% effective and safe. Cows will have no problem eating out over it.

pakalasa

Brilliant.
Theres probably a few guys reading this who spent a furtune on new barriers etc to solve the problem.

blue5000

pakalasa wrote: »

Brilliant.
Theres probably a few guys reading this who spent a furtune on new barriers etc to solve the problem.

Thanks relig, that sounds really simple and effective. I got another suggestion today, put up an electric fence about 2 yards out from the feed barrier, when the calves get out they get a shock to train them to go back in.