Flooring material in feed area

[greggy]

Hi all,

I have a small area I feed in, it is pretty good at draining, but it is getting dug up.

I am going to use 1.5 ft concrete pavers at front near trough, but, they are pretty pricey.

It is a temp area. Maybe used daily for next 6 months, after that it will only be here and there, so not pouring concrete slabs.

After the first foit and a half, what else can be used effectively ?

Crushed granite ? Blue metal and if yes, what size is best ? Crished concrete ?

I would like grass to be able to grow when not being used........

What are your thoughts ?

 

[SBMF 2015]

Ground limestone will absorb moisture and get hard when packed. It's fairly inexpensive, and will last a while.

 

[Ebenezer]

Roof or not?

Crushed concrete will potentially be bad for hooves and tires if metal is still in it. Same for broken brick.

 

[callmefence]

I don't think the concrete pavers are going to work out...

 

[greggy]

No roof.

Soil is pretty well compacted clay.

Drains well because of slope, but when it doies rain they slowly dig

 

[greggy]

Blue metal or gravel is pretty cheap, the granite should not be much different....

What is best for them? Very fine, or if aggregate, what size is ideal or ok.....

I was originally thinking gravel in about half inch size, but then was thinking some may decide to ingest some of it....

 

[SBMF 2015]

Cattle's feet can be surprisingly tender, especially if their in wet conditions a lot.
That's one of the reasons we use ground limestone. It's about the consistency of course sand.

 

[greggy]

makes sense, so the smaller particles less likely to get up into a tender area ?

ground granite should be similar then, it drains well and compacts well & would be easy to fix up, I will see if there is ground limestone, but I think they do not have it here and all goes to making powder I suspect, but will ask.

 

[greggy]

I can get crushed granite locally and cheap....would be similar to coarse sand.

Can get crushed limestone about an hour away.

Soil is actually acidic, so is it worth the extra in time and fuel for the limestone.....the granite would improve the topsoil too over time I would guess...

 

[regolith]

Blue metal with fines or lime on top, prepared when the ground is dry.
It won't really grow a lot of grass while not being used. But you can't have both, particularly on clay slopes. And don't be tempted to put it on too thin - 6 - 8 inches minimum probably, I've got areas here 4 - 6 inches and they get torn up just driving over them with a tractor.

Crushed concrete and coarse metal works to fill big holes, but you don't want any of it coming back up to the surface for the cows to stand on.
IME limestone doesn't work if it gets wet and stays wet. Your climate might allow you to use it as a top layer. Best thing for their feet if you can.
Or look into rotten rock/brown rock.

 

[greggy]

Yeah....well....we been in drought....but had a few recent rains......

I can get the fine granite localy and easily....it wont hold water or absorb....

Or I can just bite the bullet and put more concrete pavers....

What happ÷ns is they hollow out some of the clay....then poop....when it rains...that poop becomes what many are familiar with.......

In those hollowed out areas is what I would fill with.whatever....

 

[greggy]

Blue metal with fines or lime on top, prepared when the ground is dry.
It won't really grow a lot of grass while not being used. But you can't have both, particularly on clay slopes. And don't be tempted to put it on too thin - 6 - 8 inches minimum probably, I've got areas here 4 - 6 inches and they get torn up just driving over them with a tractor.

Crushed concrete and coarse metal works to fill big holes, but you don't want any of it coming back up to the surface for the cows to stand on.
IME limestone doesn't work if it gets wet and stays wet. Your climate might allow you to use it as a top layer. Best thing for their feet if you can.
Or look into rotten rock/brown rock.

What is rotten rock....

What is the composition or make up...the description escapes me as I type...

 

[regolith]

Rotten rock is a softer type of rock, quite a lot more expensive than blue metal but holds up better than lime or pumice. It can be laid down in one layer, soft on the animals feet, tough enough to scrape the dung off with a tractor, very often laid around water troughs or as the access to concrete yards on NZ dairies. It seemed to be quite commonly used 20 - 30 years ago rather than now.
there's a link:
https://www.stockrock.co.nz/rotten-rock-vs-stockrock/
I think 'zeolite' is just pumice, which is very similar to lime.

 

[greggy]

These are some of the materials locally....what do you think about the finer ones.....the brown granite is in stock

https://anlscape.com.au/Products/gravels-pebbles

 

[callmefence]

Decomposed granite is real common here for driveways and even sidewalks, can't say I've seen it used under cattle but I think it would be ok if put in thick. It stays in play good once it settles . Exception you don't want water running across it.
Boy y'all get gouged on rock.

 

[greggy]

I can get crushed limestone if I go for a drive...prob only need a ton or 2 to fill some ruts...

Wont have much water .... no more than normal rainfall on mild slope....

Can always get in there with rake or box blade when reqd.

I do not want them standing in own slop and digging deeper

 

[greggy]

I could also make a pad with log or 2x4 timber or whatever...

 

[greggy]

Oh...they also said one of the granites was 39 tonne.....lime much more plus fuel....

 

[gbfarm]

I'm dealing with the same problem.
With all the rain this winter, its like a big slurry.
I'm thinking about cutting down the size next year and putting in a good limestone base.
Pour concrete around the feeders.
How much room would 30 weaned calves need?
They have a good shelter to get out of the weather

 

[greggy]

If you have a large rural property and lot of space, I would do a few permanent areas with concrete.....