We must provide shelter for most animals in the winter and getting this shelter right can make all the difference.

Housing complicates disease issues for a number of reasons:

  • The animals are changing diet, which often takes two weeks to adjust to. This can be a stressor on them.
  • At grazing, stock will have freely available food. Indoors, we are trying to replicate this and it is essential to have adequate feed space.
  • Their environment changes and normal behaviours such as lying down and ruminating for 12-14 hours may change if conditions don’t allow.
  • Fresh air can be difficult to balance indoors, especially for younger animals. We must maximise this while trying to avoid draughts.
  • Irish winters can be damp and cold. This can be more complicated by the fact that low dry matter silage can mean wetter faeces. This can create the conditions where the bugs that cause disease can prosper.
  • Normal behaviour changes when you bring animals close together and this can lead to stress in larger groups.
  • Having animals closer together means disease spreads more easily.

    • This doesn’t mean that we can’t see good results from housing animals and generally we can get animals out to pasture in early spring.

    We need to look at ways of tackling these challenges in our housing systems.

    We must provide space for animals. Stocking densities beyond what is recommended can be a false economy. Priority animals are ewes and cows in the weeks before and after birthing. They need space to lie down. Every farm must also set a target of having one cubicle per cow.

    With disease issues such as pneumonia in winter, key areas to look at are airflow, drainage and stocking densities. Feed space per animal is another key factor. Running scrapers regularly helps also. When dung is very loose in winter, ask why. Adding some straw to the diet could be enough to firm it up.

    Nutrition

    All diets must be made up in accordance with stock’s nutritional requirements and performance targets. We must not underestimate the role of social groups and heavy stocking densities, particularly with heifers calving in. Bullying can be a big factor here, dramatically increasing stress.

    Providing space and a dry lie for animals reduces stress and helps keep animals healthier and more productive. Proper drainage plays a huge role in this also, as it greatly reduces moisture build-up.

    If I had one thing I would change on Irish farms it is how we view space in winter housing.

    Ample space for normal biology should not be underestimated from an animal health point of view.