Question about barn floor

[Stinson Farms]

I just recently built a small calf barn/shed, and i am having trouble tryin to figure out what to do about the floor. With all the rain we have been haveing in kentucky the inside of the barn has been nothing but a big soupy mess of mud. Does anyone have any ideas as to what i can put down for a floor so it wont be mud anymore, i cant afford to put concrete down so im tryin to figure out what else i can do. I was maybe thinkin after i spend a whole day getting the mud out putting pea gravel down and packing it down then covering the pea gravel with limesand.But im not sure if that would work or not. I need some suggestions, thanks

 

[ohiosteve]

If you go with gravel I would stay away from pea gravel as it does not pack well. If you have a decent base you can use #57's preferably crushed. If you need more base you could put #4's down first then top with #57's. Good luck!

 

[robertwhite]

If you put anything other than dirt, sand, or concrete, how will you clean up the cow crap?

Getting rid of the mud is the easy part. What to use that will allow for clean up is where the problem is.

 

[Goodlife]

Most barns I have been in are dirt. Is concrete really any better? I guess if you stay on top of it you can keep it clean (I am picturing shoveling all the time), but is concrete better if you don't stay ahead of it?

 

[onecarl2002]

I have read this post on here time and time again because I built a new barn last year and really didnt know what to do. I thought I wanted concrete but alot of people were dead against it and that kinda scared me. Like I said I built a barn last year concreted my floors and have had cattle on it every since I am very glad I went with concrete. Every one told me it would freeze and be to slick and cattle would fall and get hurt I have not had one yet to get hurt and they dont fall or trip no more than they do out in the pasture. The clean up is very easy when I think it is getting to deep I use a box blade to scrape all the manure to a pile in the middle and use a bucket on front of tractor to scoop it up cant get much better or easier than this. But in the end I guess what ever you have is what you like best, people with gravel or dirt floors might prefer them best but dont be scared of concrete oh and I just put a rough broom finish on mine and it is not slick at all.

 

[expensive hobby]

I have an old 1800's timber frame barn. Years ago when my father-in-law was running the farm he poured a concrete floor in it. The concrete is great for keeping your stock out of the mud but they do load it up with manure (and old hay) fairly quickly. I have not had any of my cows slip or fall on this floor. Like mentioned by someone else, the floor is broom finished and is not slippery at all. My only complaint is the second floor of the barn is too low. Since I can not get a tractor or skid loader in there, I need to periodically hand shovel it out. It kind of sucks to do, but there are always family and friends who want manure for their gardens. I just point them to where the manure is and they go in and clean some out. A good manure fork and a strong back and I can get it cleaned out fairly quickly. If building a new barn/shed make sure that your roof is high enough to get equipment in there.

 

[rjbovine]

I would recommend using road pack/ca6 . Has worked very well for me . Around 18.50 per ton deliverd . I rented a skid steer to place rock in the barn .

 

[CKC1586]

I love my broom finished concrete, wish I had it 20ft circumference around the outside of the barn....maybe further. I am pretty darn sick of mud up here!

 

[gduke2]

Lots of good ideas. I have been 2 barns with different flooring and both have advantages. The open sided (pavillion) pole barn has a dirt floor. The dirt is compacted and a higher level than the surrounding ground so that it sheds water/urine etc. When it gets too bad, it can be dragged with a bobcat or tractor and then more dirt (clay) dumped in and leveled.

The enclosed barn has a stone dust floor; we dug out the old floor, installed drain tile in #57 (about 1' deep) and then topped with fines (about 1'). This left us with a floor that shed most fluids but provided drainage for anything that seeped in. Adding material allows you to avoid water flowing in during a heavy rain; the old barm also has draintile around the perimeter.

Also, a dirt or stone dust floor is easier on feet (horse, cattle or human) than concrete.

 

[JSCATTLE]

Isnt the concrete hard on the animals legs and feet ? I know when I work on concrete all day I can sure tell the difference . Legs and knees hurt for a few days . And I'm nOt near as heavy as a cow .

 

[Goodlife]

Isnt the concrete hard on the animals legs and feet ? I know when I work on concrete all day I can sure tell the difference . Legs and knees hurt for a few days . And I'm nOt near as heavy as a cow .

It depends on how much your cattle are in the barn. Some folks bring them into the barn daily to feed them and then out they go. Some have a sqeeze shoot or head catcher in the barn so they come in to be worked on. Some have heir loading shoot in the barn. You might keep a calf or a sick animal inside for a while but you can throw some hay or sawdust down for them to soften the floor. Other than that they are pretty much out in the pasture for most folks.

 

[Dave]

Isnt the concrete hard on the animals legs and feet ? I know when I work on concrete all day I can sure tell the difference . Legs and knees hurt for a few days . And I'm nOt near as heavy as a cow .

Literally every dairy in western Washington is totally on concrete 100% of the time all winter. Those cattle seem to hold up just fine. My feeders are all on concrete so if they are eating hay they are standing on concrete. The bedding area of the barn has a dirt floor that I cover with sawdust, shavings, straw, etc (whatever is cheap and available). I just add to the bedding pile weekly all winter. By spring it is a couple feet deep of packed tight shavings and manure. It actually composts some what and in doing that heats up, giving the cows a warm place to lay. Once the cows go to pasture I clean it out and spread it on a hay field. I have gutters on the eaves of the barn to direct all water possible away from the barn.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Our barn has a dirt floor. Much easier to clean up during calving season. We fill it with straw.
I'm now doing a massive clean out with a wheel barrel and a pitchfork so definately make it big enough to get equipment inside.
Since we calve in there and we have such cold winters the concrete would get pretty darn cold for a new born especially if the cow kicks all the straw out from under the calf. I would use concrete in a milking parlor though, easier clean up.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I just recently built a small calf barn/shed, and i am having trouble tryin to figure out what to do about the floor. With all the rain we have been haveing in kentucky the inside of the barn has been nothing but a big soupy mess of mud. Does anyone have any ideas as to what i can put down for a floor so it wont be mud anymore, i cant afford to put concrete down so im tryin to figure out what else i can do. I was maybe thinkin after i spend a whole day getting the mud out putting pea gravel down and packing it down then covering the pea gravel with limesand.But im not sure if that would work or not. I need some suggestions, thanks

Is there adequate drainage around your barn? Why is there so much water inside?

 

[Stinson Farms]

Thanks for all the replys. Tennessee Tuxedo The only drainage around the barn is a small hand dug ditch across the front of the barn and thats it. Im just stumped as to why everytime when it rains the inside turns into a big soupy mess of mud. When i built the barn it was one of those projects that was put up in a hurry, and i didnt make the opening tall enough for equipment so i gotta clean it out by hand wich aint that bad. I just cant figure out how to fix this problem, kinda getting tired of cleaning the mud out everytime it rains, which up in kentucky has been bout once a week this year. This inside of the floor is not exactly all level because when i built it i didnt have acess to a bobcat to level it out, so the floor slopes down lower on one side. Would it work to level the floor out with 57 grade gravel then cover the gravel with limesand? Keeping it clean would not be an issue because i only use this barn to bring in calves and feed then after there feed they go back out in pasture so there not in there long sometimes just overnight and thats it. I just cant afford to put concrete in it.

 

[circlew]

Do you have a four wheeler? Tractor supply has a blade you mount on the front of your four wheeler. That should fit in the barn and you can push all mess out.

 

[dun]

We have a barn that alwasy got soggy/muddy after a rain. It is built on heavy clay fill. The water from the roof would fall down around it and would seep under the sides. But gutters with downspots that carry the water about 5 feet from the wlls and it's stayed bone dry since.

 

[gabby]

I just recently built a small calf barn/shed, and i am having trouble tryin to figure out what to do about the floor. With all the rain we have been haveing in kentucky the inside of the barn has been nothing but a big soupy mess of mud. Does anyone have any ideas as to what i can put down for a floor so it wont be mud anymore, i cant afford to put concrete down so im tryin to figure out what else i can do. I was maybe thinkin after i spend a whole day getting the mud out putting pea gravel down and packing it down then covering the pea gravel with limesand.But im not sure if that would work or not. I need some suggestions, thanks

Been there done that. The best solution is to elevate the floor or lower the ground outside so water can't run in under the barn.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

We have a barn that alwasy got soggy/muddy after a rain. It is built on heavy clay fill. The water from the roof would fall down around it and would seep under the sides. But gutters with downspots that carry the water about 5 feet from the wlls and it's stayed bone dry since.

That's kinda what I was thinking. Perhaps some French drains around the perimeter would help as well.

 

[djinwa]

Been there done that. The best solution is to elevate the floor or lower the ground outside so water can't run in under the barn.

This is pretty much it. Water tends to run downhill or spread out on level ground.

Walk around your shed and see the slope. Needs to slope down on all sides.

Especially where the water comes off the shed, the ground needs to slope down away from it. If it doesn't, get a shovel and start digging - at least make a trench in which the water can accumulate and soak into the ground.

You can just fill up the inside with dirt to elevate it so water can't run in. May want to put some treated boards on the sides to hold the dirt. You can use the dirt you dug from the trench outside. Lower the outside, and raise the inside.

Gutters and downspouts also help, as long as you can run them out somewhere where cattle won't mess with them, and the water doesn't drain back down to the shed.

My first shed I built in a low spot where it was convenient. Not good. The second shed I built up a high spot on a hill before starting to build.