Straw bedding and stones!

RobinBanks

Hello all,

I think i read somewhere before about putting pipe drain stones under straw bedding to keep straw drier for longer. Not sure was it for sheep or cattle or what but I was considering it for the shed the baby calves lie in. There isn't a great fall in it and I am replacing the straw every second day.

Anyone ever try this? I can see problems with soar feet and stones going everywhere unless they are contained in a frame somehow.

jack77

Could you put some chicken wire and then some of that weed suppressant stuff over the stones then straw, would be a bit of a nightmare to clean out id say?
can see a lot of potential problems with it

RobinBanks

jack77 wrote: »

would be a bit of a nightmare to clean out id say?

I thought the same but the person who done it kept adding straw and at the end of the season lifted the straw out. It came out in mats. I have my doubts though!

49801

Would prefer a wood chip base with straw on top.
Better still would be wooden slats with straw on top. Have you access to pallets?

Stone base sounds like a nightmare to me

RobinBanks

49801 wrote: »

Have you access to pallets

Ya that's what I am currently using and they are fine just interested in this method

Conmaicne Mara

RobinBanks wrote: »

Hello all,

I think i read somewhere before about putting pipe drain stones under straw bedding to keep straw drier for longer. Not sure was it for sheep or cattle or what but I was considering it for the shed the baby calves lie in. There isn't a great fall in it and I am replacing the straw every second day.

Anyone ever try this? I can see problems with soar feet and stones going everywhere unless they are contained in a frame somehow.

When Dad built his sheep shed in the late 80's he put an 8 foot concrete walkway down the centre, then all the pen spaces were filled with stone. A thick bed of straw would be put down initially then just carry on as needed. The stone wasn't pebbles like in a pipe drain but bigger than what has been described to me as 3" stone. So while the surface was "level" enough, it was also fair rough. Liquids could drain freely though the stone, I never remember the straw being particularly wet.

It was never cleaned out by machine, but I've forked it out several times and never had an issue. Once someone was careful with a machine I can't see any issues.

The "frame" so to speak would have been the outer walls of the shed, mass concrete along foundation level if that makes sense, then blocks above, and the central concrete walk way. The floor level of the pens would have been lower than the central walkway if I remember right, but that wasn't an issue for him due to ground slope.

49801

RobinBanks wrote: »

Ya that's what I am currently using and they are fine just interested in this method

I see... But why are you cleaning out every 2 days? We just kept adding fresh straw on top when it got dirty. Just cleaned out after turn out.

The stone will work but just sounds like a pain to work around come cleaning out to me

Farmer Pudsey

Give me slats any day.

bogman_bass

surely a good fall on the floor would do the same job?

J.O. Farmer

49801 wrote: »

I see... But why are you cleaning out every 2 days? We just kept adding fresh straw on top when it got dirty. Just cleaned out after turn out.

The stone will work but just sounds like a pain to work around come cleaning out to me

If you let the straw build up the wet will seep down anyway and the top will keep dry.

dzer2

Have one here for bigger cattle there is 2 foot of stone about 6" of wood chip and them straw we only ever clean out the straw. It works fine you need to be tasty with the machine though.

Milked out

We do that for calves here, hardcore with straw on top, clean out the straw when the new batch arrive in. It'll be fine and straw will last longer but you would need a shed that will allow you to work a machine in, and preferably pens that can be taken down or opened into to save any piking of dung by hand, the straw just comes up in layers.

Sharpshooter82

could you not make wooden slats like the ones easy fix make or would there be any need

Bizzum

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

If you let the straw build up the wet will seep down anyway and the top will keep dry.

When we straw bedded this is what we found! And then there's straw, and there's straw. Good straw performs much better.

fatherted1969

The brother beds the sheds out with peat. Its around the same costs as straw (he buys bales) He reckons he can get nearly 20 days between bedding. In the final week he'll put in a bale of straw to bind it together then just cleans out the sheds completely and repeat.

The peat goes back into the ground much quicker than straw and labour is reduced by not bedding every few days. Id imagine the cattle would be cleaner too.

Does anyone else use this method ?. Our farm is close to a bog so has easy access to peat

Farmer Pudsey

fatherted1969 wrote: »

The brother beds the sheds out with peat. Its around the same costs as straw (he buys bales) He reckons he can get nearly 20 days between bedding. In the final week he'll put in a bale of straw to bind it together then just cleans out the sheds completely and repeat.

The peat goes back into the ground much quicker than straw and labour is reduced by not bedding every few days. Id imagine the cattle would be cleaner too.

Does anyone else use this method ?. Our farm is close to a bog so has easy access to peat

You see this is what it is all about, if I was in Wexford I would use straw, in Clare I would use woodchip, if I was in Offaly or Westmeath peat would be attractive, if in Kerry rushes would be attractive.

But in reality if you are handling numbers slats are cheapest in the long run. disadvantage is the up front capital cost.

Markcheese

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

You see this is what it is all about, if I was in Wexford I would use straw, in Clare I would use woodchip, if I was in Offaly or Westmeath peat would be attractive, if in Kerry rushes would be attractive.

But in reality if you are handling numbers slats are cheapest in the long run. disadvantage is the up front capital cost.

Not much soakage in rushes... But your right,use what you've got,

Conmaicne Mara

I woudn't use rushes if someone paid me to. Only distributing more seed around the farm when spreading the dung.

rushvalley

Before building the slatted shed we used briars for soakage and rushes on top of that