THE IDEAL WISCONSIN CALF PEN CONCEPT
Tina Kohlman, Dairy & Livestock Agent, UW-Extension
Ken Nordlund, DVM
Clinical Professor of Food
Animal Production Medicine
University of Wisconsin
School of Veterinary Medicine
(608) 263-6811
[email protected]
http://svmweb.vetmed.wisc.edu/
dms/fapm/
Brian J. Holmes
Extension Farmstead
Engineering Specialist
UW- Madison
(608) 262-0096
[email protected]
Tina Kohlman
Dairy & Livestock Agent
UW-Extension
Sheboygan County
(920) 459-5902
[email protected]
www.sheboygan.uwex.edu/ag/
dairy/heifermanagement
Individual calf pens can be
“microenvironments” within the calf barn.
Inside the calf barns, even when naturally
ventilated and maintained as “cold barns”,
many calf pens are enclosed on three or four
sides to prevent direct contact between
individual calves. Some calf pens, in the
winter, may have a hover on the back onethird of the pen to minimize draft conditions.
Even though air movement appears to be fine
in the barn, the enclosed calf pens were
found by UW School of Veterinary Medicine
Researchers to restrict air movement within
the calf’s individual environment. This can
result in increased bacteria counts and
increased incidence of respiratory disease.
To minimize the effect of individual calf
pens becoming microenvironments for the
calf, UW-School of Veterinary Medicine’s
Dr. Ken Nordlund developed the “Ideal
Wisconsin Calf Pen” to promote a healthy
pen environment for the calf in a barn
scenario. The concept has these criteria:
• Resting space and surface: Calves
housed in an individual pen should have
32 square feet per animal with a six-inch
layer of bedding as a cushion to minimize
physical trauma. Research shows young
calves spend most of their time laying
down (over 50 percent of the time during
the day and nearly 100 percent of the time
during the night). A clean, dry resting
surface ensures a dry hair coat that helps
insulate the calf against the cold floor or
ground, low air temperatures and sudden
changes in temperature.
• Solid panels between calves:
Researchers at the UW-School of
Veterinary Medicine (Lago, et. al. 2006)
found a substantial difference of
respiratory health in calves housed with
mesh pens versus solid walls.
60%
Prevalence of respiratory disease
For more information,
please contact:
Many choices
exist when
selecting calf
housing.
Although
individual calf
hutches are the
industry’s
preferred housing for the pre-weaned calf,
dairy operators continue to build calf barns to
address the discomfort and inconvenience of
cold weather, snow and rain for the calf
raiser. Choosing the right one for your
operation depends on the environment and
the capital, labor and management resources
available. There is no single “best design”.
Every design involves a trade-off.
Regardless of the type of housing provided,
the facility must meet certain criteria to
provide a healthy environment to optimize
calf health:
• Minimize calf stress
• Provide fresh air, while limiting drafts
• Provide clean, dry and comfortable resting
places
• Provide adequate feed and water
• Manage effects of extreme weather
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
27
52
77 102 127 152 177 202 227 252 277 302 327
3
Airborne bacteria cfu/m x 1000
Mesh dividers, nesting score 2
Solid dividers, nesting score 2
As recommended by industry experts and
veterinarians, solid panels limit the disease
transfer from one calf to another by
minimizing/eliminating nose-to-nose
contact. Solid panels also help minimize
draft on the individual calf. Pen walls
should be at least four feet tall to minimize
drafts and limit nose-to-nose contact.
© 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, doing business as the Division of Cooperative Extension of the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
•Side panel extends 12 inches past the
front of the pen: Extending the side
partition of the individual pen a minimum
12 inches past the front will minimize/
eliminate nose-to-nose contact from one
calf to another.
•Open front and rear panels: Even
though it is recommended to have solid
sided calf pens to reduce disease transfer
and minimize draft, too many sides can
impede ventilation. The solid panels
separating calves should be limited to two
per pen. The front and rear panels should
be open to promote good air quality and
ventilation within the individual calf pen.
•Maximum 18 inches solid panel on the
back of the pen: To help maintain
bedding, the pen should be designed to
have a solid wall limited to 18 inches to
keep bedding in place. When pens are
placed back to back, provide at least one
foot between open pen back panels to
avoid facial contact.
•Two holes in the front panel to allow
access to feed and water/milk buckets:
To minimize contamination of feed in the
water bucket and water/milk in the feed
bucket, provide two holes in the front
panel for the calf to access feed and water.
When using one hole for feed and water
access, a calf can dribble feed or water
into the other pail as it eats and drinks.
Providing two holes allows the calf to
dribble in the pen area as it brings it’s
head back into the pen leaving less
contamination and saving on grain costs.
Pails and feeders should generally be
positioned low - 12 to 16 inches above the
floor - to allow calves to quickly find and
access feed and water.
• Deep bedding November-March: Even
though we want to minimize draft on the
calf, it is recommended not to use a hover
on the back one-third of the pen since it
eliminates ventilation and increases
airborne bacteria counts within the pen.
Instead, it is strongly encouraged to use
deep straw bedding for calves to nest in as
well as calf blankets to maintain body
heat.
Dimensions of the Ideal Wisconsin Calf Pen:
Top Rear
Panel Open
0.7 m (30 inches)
Front Panel
Extended
Lower Rear
Panel Closed
0.5 m (18 inches)
So
lid
Sid
eP
ane
l
Front Panel
Bedding
Retainer
Open
Front Panel
Not to Scale
Side Panels
(3/4” pressure treated plywood painted or glass board)
96”
18”
39”
3”
21”
48”
24 1/2”
10”
3”
3”
12”
Slot - 3/8” wider than cross panel thickness
1” diameter eye bolt positioned to accept hooks on front and rear panels
2” x 6 ” slot for lifting
Rear Top Panel
(beef panel or re-bar)
~43-3/8” Outside
4”
21”
Attaching
Hook
4”
96”
45” CL to outside
of slot
45” CL to outside
of slot
3”
3”
6”
*
Locate slots to
accept angles of
bucket holder
Slot
Front Bedding Retainer
(2x6 pressure treated lumber)
96”
45” CL to outside
of slot
45” CL to outside
of slot
10”
Slot*
20”
Rear Lower Panel
(3/4” pressure treated plywood painted or glass board)
* Slot 3/8” wider than side panel thickness
Not to
References:
“Housing Factors Optimize Respiratory Health of Calves in Naturally
Ventilated Calf Barns in Winter”, ASABE Publication #701P0507e,
Dr. Ken Nordlund
“Practical Considerations of Ventilating Calf Barns in Winter” PreConference American Bovine p Conference, 2007, Dr. Ken Nordlund
“Calf Respiratory Disease and Pen Microenvironements in Naturally
Ventilated Calf Barns in Winter, A. Lago, et al, JDS 2006.
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© 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, doing business as the Division of Cooperative Extension of the University of Wisconsin-Extension.