Calf cubicles

[Monty]

Has anybody put in cubicles for weaned calves before? We have a small loosebox around 12x18ft which is just causing no end of grief with the calves going backwards and struggling in there. Has a concrete floor that seems to slope into it and the bedding is very hard to keep dry in there. Will be for 2-6 month olds. I was thinking something like 4ft x 2 1/2 ft size sloped back and cleaned and bedded by hand every 3/4 days.
Otherwise perhaps knocking holes in the concrete to help drain the water out or knocking through the wall into the unused neighbouring loosebox and doubling the size of it. Any thoughts/suggestions

 

[dinderleat]

Give up on the shed and build a new one the extra performance would soon pay for a shed

 

[Homesy]

Has anybody put in cubicles for weaned calves before? We have a small loosebox around 12x18ft which is just causing no end of grief with the calves going backwards and struggling in there. Has a concrete floor that seems to slope into it and the bedding is very hard to keep dry in there. Will be for 2-6 month olds. I was thinking something like 4ft x 2 1/2 ft size sloped back and cleaned and bedded by hand every 3/4 days.
Otherwise perhaps knocking holes in the concrete to help drain the water out or knocking through the wall into the unused neighbouring loosebox and doubling the size of it. Any thoughts/suggestions

yep put mine from weaning. Mine are 6ft long with a brisket rail at 4 foot. 2 foot 6 centres.

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

Have them in cubicles from about 4 months old, works a treat. Scraping passage and bed with sawdust.

 

[Monty]

yep put mine from weaning. Mine are 6ft long with a brisket rail at 4 foot. 2 foot 6 centres.

Do you have any pics? Standard off the shelf cubicles or home made?

I should probably add the calves move on from this and an adjacent larger loosebox (which they do well in) into cubicles at our neighbours so anywhere from 4 to 10 months old when they first go into cubicles but they are far too big for the smaller ones and take a lot of cleaning off and use a lot of straw. Plus we only rear 15 or so heifers a year so can't justify a new shed for them

 

[simmy_bull]

Any way of sorting the floor out a bit to try and keep it dryer and adding forced ventilation to help the situation? 2 months strikes me as fairly young to be laid in a cubicle but it might work?

 

[PREES]

We might have some calf cubicles for sale, PM if anyone is interested.

 

[Kingofgrass]

Teemore will make you any size loop you want our heifers on straw till about 50/60 days then cubicles onwards I’ll take some pics

 

[WillM]

Have heifers on cubicles from 3 months after the leave the auto feeder. Works okay.

 

[Kingofgrass]

So first off they go into the small cubicles then as the go bigger into the far end cubicles (same size cubicles) get served in there around 12/15months old depending on size/not age then into the bigger cubicles with my Hereford bull....there u go everyone loves looking at pictures....

 

[Monty]

Very fancy Kingofgrass. Now I have shed envy

A bit far to collect there Prees but thanks for the offer

Simmybull it would definitely be quicker work in the winter to keep them loosehoused but what is the best thing to do with the concrete floor in there now? Not sure I want to rip it all out and put stones in as it's so easy to clean out now but something will have to change for next winter.

 

[bigw]

Have them in cubicles from about 4 months old, works a treat. Scraping passage and bed with sawdust.

What size of cubicle do you have for 4 months @Dr. Alkathene

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

What size of cubicle do you have for 4 months @Dr. Alkathene

I will measure them tomorrow.

 

[dinderleat]

This could help

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

I will measure them tomorrow.

Single row cubicles 5 foot 6 with about another foot of lunging room. Cubicles are 32 inch wide and neck rail is 32 inch high. Holstein heifers on ad lib cake, straw and silage.

 

[bigw]

Single row cubicles 5 foot 6 with about another foot of lunging room. Cubicles are 32 inch wide and neck rail is 32 inch high. Holstein heifers on ad lib cake, straw and silage.

Thank you, how long do you leave them in that cubicles before you move them up a size?

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

Each batch would probably spend 4 to 8 weeks in that part of the building. Depends on time of year and how fast we need to make room for the next batch of calves coming in.

Building is split into 3 groups of cubicles, with same scraping passage and each section going up the building has wider cubicles with higher neck rail to fit the heifers as they grow.

 

[Monty]

Just thought I'd do an update. I knocked through the wall between the 2 looseboxes a few months after starting this thread and removed a bit of concrete from the front of the problem one (on the right) to help drainage and ran it as a double loosebox for the previous 2 winters. The calves did really well but no concrete to stand on meant the hooves got a bit long for my liking by the time they moved on to cubicles. A couple of months ago I made some simple cubicles to go in from some old knackered mushroom ones we had lying around. The calves have taken to them like a duck to water. The front bit is cleaned out every 3 days by hand. Straw use is roughly 1 kg/heifer/day compared to 3-4kg previously and they are keeping cleaner than the loosehoused bunch nextdoor. Very pleased with them so far.

 

[Stuart1]

Just thought I'd do an update. I knocked through the wall between the 2 looseboxes a few months after starting this thread and removed a bit of concrete from the front of the problem one (on the right) to help drainage and ran it as a double loosebox for the previous 2 winters. The calves did really well but no concrete to stand on meant the hooves got a bit long for my liking by the time they moved on to cubicles. A couple of months ago I made some simple cubicles to go in from some old knackered mushroom ones we had lying around. The calves have taken to them like a duck to water. The front bit is cleaned out every 3 days by hand. Straw use is roughly 1 kg/heifer/day compared to 3-4kg previously and they are keeping cleaner than the loosehoused bunch nextdoor. Very pleased with them so far.


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That’s a first class job. Calves looking super healthy also [emoji1303]

 

[Sheeps]

This is my attempt of calf cubicles recycled scaffolding floor slopes in to middle and there is a gully in next pen that drains into tank. I clean it out once a week but at the minute calves are very loose must be adjusting to the silage.