Disinfectants

stablegirl

Member

Location

North

• Feb 11, 2019

• #1

We have built a new calf shed which comprises to 2 big pens with calves on auto feeders and have found you keep wandering from pen to pen, so we have decided to put so disinfectant foot mats on the entrance to each pen.

What chemical should we have in them?

 

Headless chicken

Member

Location

West Wales

• Feb 11, 2019

• #2

We used virophor I think in a boot dip changed weekly. We also had Perecitic scid to spray teats and around wTer bowls

 

C

coomoo

Member

• Feb 11, 2019

• #3

Crikey that’s thorough How’s it going? Week 3 here and delighted.

 

ollie989898

Member

Location

Hanging from a twig, in a deep sleep.

• Feb 11, 2019

• #4

coomoo said:

Crikey that’s thorough How’s it going? Week 3 here and delighted.View attachment 766032 View attachment 766034

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Only way to do it. Anything else is too labour-hungry.

 

L

lazy farmer

Member

Location

som/dor border

• Feb 11, 2019

• #5

Can’t agree there.

 

W

Wee Willy

Member

Location

Tyrone

• Feb 11, 2019

• #6

Sorry to point it out but there’s a scour stain on the wall in the 1st picture.

 

Tonka

Member

Location

N Yorkshire

• Feb 11, 2019

• #7

@coomoo Looks good...…………..collecting yard over wall in first pic?
Any concerns/problems with shared airspace?

 

G

Grassman247

Member

• Feb 11, 2019

• #8

Just wait until things start going wrong

Repair guys came straight out full credit to them, but it’s not very automatic when there’s 60 hungry calves not getting fed.

Can’t wait to go back to pens and buckets

 

ollie989898

Member

Location

Hanging from a twig, in a deep sleep.

• Feb 11, 2019

• #9

Friends of mine have been using calves fed by robots for years, would never go back. They are generally very reliable and work very well, with calf performance more than offsetting the downsides. Feeding calves only twice a day is not optimal if we are really being honest.

Feed as much powder as you can, you won't get that animal to ever grow as fast as it can as a calf ever again in its lifetime.

 

C

coomoo

Member

• Feb 12, 2019

• #10

Wee Willy said:

Sorry to point it out but there’s a scour stain on the wall in the 1st picture.

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I know calves moved from old facilities, none now they’ve settled

 

C

coomoo

Member

• Feb 12, 2019

• #11

Tonka said:

@coomoo Looks good...…………..collecting yard over wall in first pic?
Any concerns/problems with shared airspace?

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Yeah it is, was a concern but the amount of air movement and freshness I don’t see it being a problem but will be monitoring it. @Grassman247 that looks a proper disaster to walk in on.

 

B

bar718

Member

• Feb 12, 2019

• #12

@coomoo how much fall have you got in them pens and where is the drains. Sorry for asking for details but it’s our next project so looking at all the different ideas at present.

 

C

coomoo

Member

• Feb 12, 2019

• #13

bar718 said:

@coomoo how much fall have you got in them pens and where is the drains. Sorry for asking for details but it’s our next project so looking at all the different ideas at present.

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Near 4 inch back to front. Used gully drains taking into an existing lagoon with the amount of wash water and rinsing after each calf should run fine. Plenty ducting aswell. Waiting on a run of hose so that it’s easy to rinse and disinfect whole station, bucket and brush the now with peracetic.

 

ollie989898

Member

Location

Hanging from a twig, in a deep sleep.

• Feb 13, 2019

• #14

As I keep saying to people, any decision you make going forward should be carefully examined with regard to reducing potential labour liabilities as available labour just might not exist going forward and will invariably become ever more expensive.

 

C

coomoo

Member

• Feb 13, 2019

• #15

ollie989898 said:

As I keep saying to people, any decision you make going forward should be carefully examined with regard to reducing potential labour liabilities as available labour just might not exist going forward and will invariably become ever more expensive.

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Totally agree. So far I can’t stress the flexibility this has allowed here.

 

C

coomoo

Member

• Feb 13, 2019

• #16

stablegirl said:

We have built a new calf shed which comprises to 2 big pens with calves on auto feeders and have found you keep wandering from pen to pen, so we have decided to put so disinfectant foot mats on the entrance to each pen.

What chemical should we have in them?

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@stablegirl what have you come up with disinfectant wise?

 

stablegirl

Member

Location

North

• Feb 13, 2019

• #17

Possibly Virkon I think mats turned up yesterday.

 

ollie989898

Member

Location

Hanging from a twig, in a deep sleep.

• Feb 16, 2019

• #18

It is worth noting that all disinfectants are inactivated by organic matter, so if you are going to be serious about using them, you need to thoroughly clean (hot water/steam and detergent) calf pens or equipment or wellies etc before you apply them.

Please please please do not use lime any longer. I remember using it many many years ago, and I know it is cheap and works well but I saw a man with an eye injury cause by lime and it was nasty. It wasn't until I got involved with hospitals and medicine that I realised how evil the stuff is. No second chances with it.

 

L

lazy farmer

Member

Location

som/dor border

• Feb 16, 2019

• #19

We are using foot dips this season before entering calf pens.any thoughts on how often to refresh them?

 

ollie989898

Member

Location

Hanging from a twig, in a deep sleep.

• Feb 16, 2019

• #20

lazy farmer said:

Can’t agree there.

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You need to do something besides than robot feeding calves just to occupy your time though, what else would you do all day besides milk cows, walk them about, move fences or sleep?...