Dairy Chitchat 3

whelan2

Another question now, how many skylights per bay ? Full or half ones?

Buford T. Justice XIX

whelan2 wrote: »

Another question now, how many skylights per bay ? Full or half ones?

For me, one in each bay and full all the way. You can't have enough natural light in a shed, imo.

Mooooo

Just be sure to have a cage under them

wrangler

whelan2 wrote: »

Another question now, how many skylights per bay ? Full or half ones?

Have you any sheeting on the sides, last few shed here I put the skylights on the side, same effect and safer, also the birds don't pick them

whelan2

wrangler wrote: »

Have you any sheeting on the sides, last few shed here I put the skylights on the side, same effect and safer, also the birds don't pick them

yes I will have some skylights on the side

wrangler

whelan2 wrote: »

yes I will have some skylights on the side

Punched sheeting lets in a lot of light too

mahoney_j

whelan2 wrote: »

Another question now, how many skylights per bay ? Full or half ones?

I used easy fix interlocking mats also put on brisket pipe ,supplied by Condon’s ,used no clear lights in roof all space sheeting great job lots of light and no water dripping in wet days

GrasstoMilk

mahoney_j wrote: »

I used easy fix interlocking mats also put on brisket pipe ,supplied by Condon’s ,used no clear lights in roof all space sheeting great job lots of light and no water dripping in wet days

Do you have many beds with dung on them in the morning?
I have my neck rail too far forward - did that to get cows up into them, but every bed is dirty. I really should pull them back soon to find out if I need a brisket board or not for next year but not enough hours in the day atm

jaymla627

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Do you have many beds with dung on them in the morning?
I have my neck rail too far forward - did that to get cows up into them, but every bed is dirty. I really should pull them back soon to find out if I need a brisket board or not for next year but not enough hours in the day atm

Use the black drainage pipe here for a brisket board with homemade brackets to keep it in place, works perfectly and costs a tenth of the price

Dakota Dan

RedPeppers wrote: »

After fitting out new shed with Easyfix interlocking mats happy with them.

No mats and cows seem happy out, just lime once a day or every other day depending on how dirty the cubicles get.

GrasstoMilk

jaymla627 wrote: »

Use the black drainage pipe here for a brisket board with homemade brackets to keep it in place, works perfectly and costs a tenth of the price

The lad we bought the cubicles off said to express nail a 6x4 timber up at the top of the mat. I think that would be quite hard on the knees

jaymla627

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

The lad we bought the cubicles off said to express nail a 6x4 timber up at the top of the mat. I think that would be quite hard on the knees

Be a butcher of a job alright, the pipe works perfect and is very duarable, think it’s 4 inch and we got a length of 4.5 inch steel pipe to use for brackets with a plate welded toitbwith two holes drilled out for ragging it in, basically a copycat of the Teemore brisket board

Buford T. Justice XIX

Dakota Dan wrote: »

No mats and cows seem happy out, just lime once a day or every other day depending on how dirty the cubicles get.

We started off like that too for a few years until we could afford mats. We put the mats in the least popular cubicles and they were always the first taken once the mats went in. It makes a huge difference in comfort. We don't milk much with cows indoors but I reckon it makes a bit of difference.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Nice calf house in the Journal this week.
https://www.farmersjournal.ie/article.php?id=436329&preview=1&showbodymobile=0

simx

whelan2 wrote: »

I think this was asked before, what cubicle mats are ye using? Single, interlocking or roll of mat.

Interlocking went in here last year

K.G.

+1 for krailberg interlocking.i find cubicle s facing each other are dirtyier than against a wall

whelan2

Sorry for all the questions, where do ye store your lime and saw dust? Thinking of a little store in the new building

Buford T. Justice XIX

K.G. wrote: »

+1 for krailberg interlocking.i find cubicle s facing each other are dirtyier than against a wall

Would your brisket board need to be moved down a few inches, 2 or 3 inches should get them lying further back?

Keepgrowing

Today is our official start of calving. 25% calved to date. Cows really kicking off in earnest today. 12 since morning and they’re queuing up. Giddy up.

Straight out to grass is a great saver on time every morning and evening. 11 weeks till it’s over.

Timmaay

I'm still on OAD here, 10 cows calved here so far, who are giving up to 25l/day (athlo most more like 20), I have to say its a massive labour saving staying OAD, and particularly suits me at the min while I'm busy enough the evenings with off farm stuff, how long can I get away with this before it will hit the yields badly ha?

whelan2

Timmaay wrote: »

I'm still on OAD here, 10 cows calved here so far, who are giving up to 25l/day (athlo most more like 20), I have to say its a massive labour saving staying OAD, and particularly suits me at the min while I'm busy enough the evenings with off farm stuff, how long can I get away with this before it will hit the yields badly ha?

What's the cell count like?

Timmaay

whelan2 wrote: »

What's the cell count like?

Not great I won't lie, 250ish whereas would normally be 150, however still only 23 in total milking so one cow could be doing most the damage there.

Mooooo

31st was psc, at 30% roughly, seem to be coming in starts, none some days and others then with 8 , 5 etc. 5 more today seem to drop faster this year I think got caught out with one on the cubicles today. Milk going this week, will sync the heifers this year i think. An oversized tank and heifers stretched out delays the first collection

GrasstoMilk

Mooooo wrote: »

31st was psc, at 30% roughly, seem to be coming in starts, none some days and others then with 8 , 5 etc. 5 more today seem to drop faster this year I think got caught out with one on the cubicles today. Milk going this week, will sync the heifers this year i think. An oversized tank and heifers stretched out delays the first collection

Definitely synchronise them, we've 5/40 heifers left to calve here. They have a nice length now to get themselves right for breeding

Bazzer007

whelan2 wrote: »

Sorry for all the questions, where do ye store your lime and saw dust? Thinking of a little store in the new building

I have a mini lime spreader & lime bags stored within the shed on a cublice right beside a wall. Have ply sheeting bolted on one side & park a 135 in front of the cublice. Works for me as the 135 cleans dung onto the slats. In time planning to buy a skidsteer & Lime/sawdust spreader so will have to build a storage area.

Muddy76

whelan2 wrote: »

Sorry for all the questions, where do ye store your lime and saw dust? Thinking of a little store in the new building

I keep my lime in one of those JFC meal bins with the yellow lid.it holds 1 ton of the agrical lime.I leave it outside the door of the shed

Timmaay

Have it in a calf house until mid Feb, then usually lob it outside in a panic to get the shed ready for calves, with whatever sort of 4ft square sheet of timber or tin I can grab my hands barely covering the top from rain, and that does the job well enough not to bother going to any effort to make a little shed etc for it I'm not gonna lie ha.

Mooooo

Get tonne bags here and leave them in a corner of the calf shed next to cubicle house. Have a big scoop for filling the bucket then. I guess Whelan as your at it it would be no harm to throw up some sort of store for such things, altho it's the making sure it doesn't get filled with ****e that should be thrown out is another thing lol. Also roller or sliding doors big or small as swinging doors can be a right hazard.

Second jersey landed and another heifer so going well that way. She's actually big enough, the mother is out of Canadian bull I think, cgh who was easy calving himself iirc. Running at 72% heifers at the minute.

jaymla627

Good to see a bit of value can be got with mixed rations again, 240 euro for a custom made up mix of 35% soya hulls/30% crimped maize/15%soya/10%barley/10%peas delivered and blown into bin

Sacrolyte

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

jaymla627 wrote: »

Use the black drainage pipe here for a brisket board with homemade brackets to keep it in place, works perfectly and costs a tenth of the price

The lad we bought the cubicles off said to express nail a 6x4 timber up at the top of the mat. I think that would be quite hard on the knees

Used a 4x2 here. About 6 inches down. Used express nails too. Their so easy. Great job