Suckler cows on straw bedded cubicles.

[tommytractor]

Does anyone have any pictures of their suckler cows housed in cubicles bedded with straw?
Have a shed like this already but it was designed in the 70's when we would of had 500kg angus cows and the cubicles are too small for our 700kg simmentals nowadays.
Try to be self sufficient with straw and our other loose bedded cattle courts use a lot of bedding, so like the idea of putting up a large cubicle shed.
Don't have a slurry system and would like to avoid going down that road.
Wondered if putting in a cheap rubber roll of mat in the cubicles as well as a small amount of straw to thicken the dung would work?
Also any designs for a calf creep would be helpful.
Shed is to house autumn calving cows with their calves.
The pictures are of my current shed that I only manage to house yearling replacement heifers in.
Thanks
Tom

 

[jamesy]

I don’t know, but your heifers look lovely as does their accommodation!

 

[tommytractor]

I don’t know, but your heifers look lovely as does their accommodation!

Thanks James, the heifers are quite happy in there, having to outwinter too many cows, needing to get a decent set up for cows/calves.

 

[Jdunn55]

I'm thinking of doing the same but just updating our current sheds with cubicles but would still need a bedded calving area/creep area so would like to see other peoples set ups as well, also dont want a slurry system. Do you find that your heifers dung is thick enough to stack, looking at the photos I would guess that it is? I'm hoping if I feed hay/haulage and use deep straw bedded cubicles the slurry should be thick enough to stack

 

[Dave6170]

@Hilly has a cubicle shed

 

[tommytractor]

I'm thinking of doing the same but just updating our current sheds with cubicles but would still need a bedded calving area/creep area so would like to see other peoples set ups as well, also dont want a slurry system. Do you find that your heifers dung is thick enough to stack, looking at the photos I would guess that it is? I'm hoping if I feed hay/haulage and use deep straw bedded cubicles the slurry should be thick enough to stack

Yes, the shed in the pictures has 48 cubicles and there used to be 48 cubicles on the other side of the shed identical to that but we ripped them out a couple of years back and is now a bedded court which I use for cows/calves then calving, but only holds 22 cows and calves and needs 2 5ft bales of straw a day where as the cubicles only need a half 5ft bale every 2 days, huge saving on straw.
The dung is stiff enough to stack, all my inside cows are fed straw among their silage with diet feeder which helps, from January onwards I load the dung once a week straight into the spreader and onto the stubble weather permitting.

 

[Dave6170]

Do they pull the straw out of the cubicles and lie in the scrape pass?

 

[tommytractor]

Yes, some do, especially if I put too much straw in, tried flooding the passage, still some animals refuse to go in, wondered about bedding them with sawdust the first week or so til they get used to lying in.
Want to get the new shed right so will get advice what size/type cubicles to put in, that’s why I’m wondering about putting in some rubber too to make them attractive to lye in.

 

[serf]

Is it the size of the cow or length that won't fit in cubicle ,
If its length you could drop a foot of concrete on the ends if the scrape passage is wide enough to accommodate this .

 

[Hilly]

@Hilly has a cubicle shed

I can’t use straw because need to pump slurry into above ground store , I use matts which are transformational and paper crumble bedding .

 

[michael N123]

I do the same but use less straw than what you have in that photo

My friend has a Kidd pto round bale chopper and that does a good job I’d have one for cubicles if I had a little tractor to power it

 

[tommytractor]

Is it the size of the cow or length that won't fit in cubicle ,
If its length you could drop a foot of concrete on the ends if the scrape passage is wide enough to accommodate this .

A bit of both, the cubicles are only just over 6 ft long and a bit over 3 ft wide, unfortunately scrape pass is only 9ft wide so basically the shed is too small! When the new shed goes up the plan is to convert the old one to a handling system and some bull pens.

 

[tommytractor]

I do the same but use less straw than what you have in that photo

My friend has a Kidd pto round bale chopper and that does a good job I’d have one for cubicles if I had a little tractor to power it

yes, that would definitely help with the straw getting pulled out, do kidd still make them? A few new trailed type KIdds around me now. Wonder if I chop a few bales with the baler especially for the cubicles. Need to put plenty net on them though!!

 

[michael N123]

yes, that would definitely help with the straw getting pulled out, do kidd still make them? A few new trailed type KIdds around me now. Wonder if I chop a few bales with the baler especially for the cubicles. Need to put plenty net on them though!!

See a few on Facebook for sensible money but it’s the small tractor to power it that holds me back

I’ve also tried chopping it threw the bedder and the chopped straw is horrible to handle by hand you take the net off and you’ve a instant mess that just falls threw your gripe

 

[Hilly]

I do the same but use less straw than what you have in that photo

My friend has a Kidd pto round bale chopper and that does a good job I’d have one for cubicles if I had a little tractor to power it

I used to have one and could t get on with it sold it years ago .

 

[davidroberts30]

How are you going to use cubicles and not have an slurry system

 

[tommytractor]

See a few on Facebook for sensible money but it’s the small tractor to power it that holds me back

I’ve also tried chopping it threw the bedder and the chopped straw is horrible to handle by hand you take the net off and you’ve a instant mess that just falls threw your gripe

Couple of tidy ones there, have a teagle 8080 here, it's been a good machine. Yes, agree about the baler chopped bales, tried some to put in diet feeder once but they were a nightmare to handle once the net was off and a few fell in half before the net came off.

 

[tommytractor]

How are you going to use cubicles and not have an slurry system

Use some straw and scrape to a concrete panel holding area, been doing this for years, works ok but shed/cubicles are too small now.

 

[davidroberts30]

Use some straw and scrape to a concrete panel holding area, been doing this for years, works ok but shed/cubicles are too small now.

I got cubicles on mats and straw
Its slurry I got ,wouldnt stack at all

 

[tommytractor]

I got cubicles on mats and straw
Its slurry I got ,wouldnt stack at all

Is it a slatted scrape pass you have? Cows here on dry silage 2kg straw, dung is quite stiff, can load with bucket or fork into the spreader/trailer. What sort of mats are best to go for, don't want anything too fancy, was thinking a roll before installing cubicles. Have you any pictures of your set up?