Looking at beef housing, no space for a slurry pit and we're in a national park so wouldn't get planning for one. Would having a tank under a slatted feed passage with a straw lie back work? Or would the slats just get filled with straw? Could you have a tank under the barn and one entrance to it at the end of the passage way?
Slatted scrapping passage
- Thread starter Formatted
- Start date
- Location
- Northumberland
Why bother with the straw lie-back? Just slat the lot. Not sure what you mean about entrance to the tank?
Just not that keen on the way cattle look on slats, been to Ireland quite a lot and never quite sat right with me.
Entrance to the tank, what I mean is, if you have a concrete passage but at the end of the passage you have a gap that you scrap into. Rather than having slats along he whole passage way
- Location
- Northumberland
With mats they lie clean and happy. But you need to do what you feel comfortable with.
I wouldn't want to build a tank and spend time & diesel scraping. Mines not touched (other than a bucket of slurry bugs) from housing til first cut.
- Location
- County Down
Just put a 2 foot wall between the two and that will stop the worst of the straw getting brought in
ollie989898
Member
Have a straw lying area and a passage you can scrape and heap up with a loader bucket each day? Beef cattle don't slurry like dairy cattle so much and the straw bedding will mean it can legally be stacked and heaped up as it's FYM??
Cattle stay cleaner, straw goes further and no slurry angle to worry about? Grow a bit of cereal, even oats for the straw?
Capital cost of slats is an issue and slurry is probably something I would avoid if I could because going forward it will be a legislative timebomb, never know what the powers that be will dream up next.
Cattle stay cleaner, straw goes further and no slurry angle to worry about? Grow a bit of cereal, even oats for the straw?
Capital cost of slats is an issue and slurry is probably something I would avoid if I could because going forward it will be a legislative timebomb, never know what the powers that be will dream up next.
Having tanks under slats would actually be preferable than an uncovered heap as its on a hill and worried about run off from the yard
ollie989898
Member
That's fine, you go with slurry you go with the liability of it and I can't see the authorities being too keen on it in future. A heap of FYM ain't really going anywhere.
- Location
- Northumberland
Ollie, it is a bit odd that you're often to be seen recommending the spending of other peoples' money on top-spec tractors and other kit for 'it'll be nice to drive' reasons, yet the capital cost of slats is an issue?
- Location
- County Down
Personally I’m filled with dread at the thought of uncovered lagoons. Maybe it’s just the dad in me panicking about when the wee ones are big enough to roam around the yard. We have one but have started draining the water into the slatted tank and have nice solid manure to spread on ploughing ground.
ollie989898
Member
Lol I don't recommend anything, obviously the capital cost of slats is an issue, but if you read the entirety of my post I mention the on-going liability that I believe slurry will become and the authorities don't like it. They seem to view FYM with less concern. Obviously all of this is subject to change. If you are able to scrape the feeding area alongside the barrier every day with a tractor and loader you can heap it up as it will inevitably contain a lot of straw. I'm not that keen on slats from a welfare angle and I can imagine that consumer sentiment won't be either in future.
- Location
- County Down
it’s more capital but have you considered rubber matted slats? They are the business - as long as you get the non-slip kind. Cows are as happy as pigs in sh!te and you have no straw requirements or scraping to worry about. You’ll not find cattle that are cleaner either except on countryfile.
ollie989898
Member
I have no doubt that cattle are cleaner on slats. You won't find me arguing with that. My concern is that retailers one day will decide they don't like it.