What do you reckon to this?
- Thread starter Bald Rick
- Start date
Headless chicken
Member
- Location
- West Wales
It will be a total disaster.Thinking of converting a loose house to cubicles for heifers and seen this on the net
Have a load of 4’6” polyethylene tubes left over and wonder if they’d do a job?
Thoughts
Why? Not dissing just interested
Headless chicken
Member
- Location
- West Wales
we tried something similar when we first started back in as a cheap solution. They just lay as sh!t everywhere. Was a total mess. In the end we had to put a leg at the back to in effect make a plastic kennel with a wooden rear leg. We then had issues with how to fix them etc.
All in all im rather glad to never have to see tjem
Again.
Horn&corn
Member
When we were considering putting in cubicles we had a really interesting visit to kingshay where they have a shed with almost every type of cubicle. Cows were recorded who lay where and robustness etc. These type with plastic had some of the best lying time etc but were considered hopeless as broke off, bent and cows lying sideways. We went with iae ultima on deep sand and haven’t regretted it.
Headless chicken
Member
- Location
- West Wales
Sorry I was milking earlier so we had pulled our old kennels out to turn them into loose housing so we needed a cheap solution to get something like a cubicle bed back.
I was extremely reluctant to do a proper job as the shed was shagged and I knew if we did put proper cubicles in it would just be another reason not to take it down.
the idea was brilliant in theory. We used 50mm water pipe because we were laying some in the parlour anyway so just cut the lengths.
Screws just pulled through
bolts we’re better but not really good enough
It did manage to get us by for a couple years but required near constant maintenance as in constantly everytime you walked into the shed they had broken another one it was sole destroying. But tbf you live and learn.
when you get to your scale @Bald Rick imo I think things need to run like a well oiled machine as you’ve more than enough problems without adding to your hassles.
Also with the looming NVZ and you taking on extra land a further distance away I suspect ( but could well be wrong) that solid muck could be a valuable asset as compared to slurry at 5% Dm? And paying to haul a sh!t load of water.
I was extremely reluctant to do a proper job as the shed was shagged and I knew if we did put proper cubicles in it would just be another reason not to take it down.
the idea was brilliant in theory. We used 50mm water pipe because we were laying some in the parlour anyway so just cut the lengths.
Screws just pulled through
bolts we’re better but not really good enough
It did manage to get us by for a couple years but required near constant maintenance as in constantly everytime you walked into the shed they had broken another one it was sole destroying. But tbf you live and learn.
when you get to your scale @Bald Rick imo I think things need to run like a well oiled machine as you’ve more than enough problems without adding to your hassles.
Also with the looming NVZ and you taking on extra land a further distance away I suspect ( but could well be wrong) that solid muck could be a valuable asset as compared to slurry at 5% Dm? And paying to haul a sh!t load of water.
You’ve identified two problems we are wrestling with @Headless chicken
Heifer numbers are increasing rapidly esp with the use of sexed so we think we can better utilise the shed by installing cubicles. Plus we have to buy in straw
NVZ is the other and having FYM would mitigate that to a degree but that shed would only generate a tiny proportion of our overall manure so is it a big deal?
Headless chicken
Member
- Location
- West Wales
more heifers will ultimately mean more cows no doubt so prehaps your thinking is correct forget about the small amount of FYM you’ll have as in the scale of things it doesn’t matter and look to try and get a desperation or try and dry your slurry somehow making it easier and cheaper to transport.
on the straw front I put the value of FYM to me at £60-£70 per tonne so straw is worth while for me. But I’m on extremely light soils.
- Location
- somerset
chap working for us at the moment,, has experience of these, great in theory, great in practice, except for the few cows that learn to turn around in, or lie sideways, which muck the system up.
Dead Rabbits
Member
- Location
- 'Merica
Thinking of converting a loose house to cubicles for heifers and seen this on the net
Have a load of 4’6” polyethylene tubes left over and wonder if they’d do a job?
Thoughts
Do your jerseys require a new jungle gym?
- Location
- Fife
What about a slurry separator?
- Location
- sw scotland
There must be second hand cubicles somewhere. We got some for £25 each with all the clamps, poles, etc. Some cows still lie on the slats but straw and slats....
All underground lagoons bar a small one used for the heifer sheds
- Location
- Fife
Does that mean you can use a separator?
Think it would be very difficult as it all falls through the slats and stays there until we need to spread.
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