calves

[Anonymous]

hello, last year i bottle raised about 10 holstein calves in our barn during the fall/winter each calf had its own stall with hay on the floor. this year i plan on doing more at a time and we are using our old rabbit pole barn converted in to stalls. i plan on having a concrete slab floor with drainage for easy cleaning my question is: we live in sw, mississippi where our winter are not terriblbly cold we may have a day or 2 of freesing weather other wise upper 30 at night 40-50 during the day. we will have tarps for the night time wind chill but will a concrete floor be to cold for the young calves i was trying to avoid using hay because of the mess when they potty and figure the concrete will be the best way to keep the stalls clean. i can bottle raise 36 calves at a time and need easy maintance for keeping the stalls clean but worried that concrete will get to cold for them any input is appreacited.

thanks

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[Anonymous]

Along with the concrete being cold and the problems of bottle calves trying to maintain thier body heat which bedding will do, I would think that the calves would develope sores from laying on concrete, as well as getting up and down on it. You see lots of concrete in corrals, pens and yards but in most cases they have the ability or option to get off of it. In short; I think you will be nursing more sick calves with colds, diarrhea and body sores... my opinion.

> hello, last year i bottle raised
> about 10 holstein calves in our
> barn during the fall/winter each
> calf had its own stall with hay on
> the floor. this year i plan on
> doing more at a time and we are
> using our old rabbit pole barn
> converted in to stalls. i plan on
> having a concrete slab floor with
> drainage for easy cleaning my
> question is: we live in sw,
> mississippi where our winter are
> not terriblbly cold we may have a
> day or 2 of freesing weather other
> wise upper 30 at night 40-50
> during the day. we will have tarps
> for the night time wind chill but
> will a concrete floor be to cold
> for the young calves i was trying
> to avoid using hay because of the
> mess when they potty and figure
> the concrete will be the best way
> to keep the stalls clean. i can
> bottle raise 36 calves at a time
> and need easy maintance for
> keeping the stalls clean but
> worried that concrete will get to
> cold for them any input is
> appreacited.

> thanks



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[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Concrete without bedding will result in calves laying in feces and urine between cleanings. They will be sick and cold. They lick their hair to groom themselves. I have been there and it doesn't work. Consider putting down coarse gravel to provide drainage and minimize the amount of bedding that you will need to add.

 

[Anonymous]

You could try using sawdust. It is alot easier to clean and absorbs more than straw. Otherwise a neighbor of mine used to use shredded newspaper. I'm not sure where he got it, but it would come in small square bales. That also seemed to work pretty good.

 

[Anonymous]

just forget about individual housing for the calves. nothing but trouble and indeed the concrete bedding will make them sich after a while. the way i raise calves indoors: groups of five to six, front part of the box is concrete, sloping backwards, back part of the box is just soil, with a straw bedding (why do you use hay????????, straw absorbs more and costs less). calvs will crap in front, on the concrete, wich you clean every two days (shovell it to the front bit of the bedding, leaving the rest of the bedding relatively clean.) this way you save on bedding, you save on heating and your calves will grow better. also, you only need to clean a box every 4 - 6 months, if you are willing to use enough bedding.

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