Last week, I visited Scurmore Pedigree, which runs a pedigree Charolais herd in Ennisrone, Co Sligo, to look at its hi-spec calving shed that has to accomodate a high number of caesarean sections.

The herd is very much focused on using the very best Charolais genetics to produce high-quality offspring. An autumn-calving system is run on the farm and there are currently 15 pedigree cows. However, a further 33 recipient heifers are also carrying pedigree Charolais embryos.

Heifers are due to start calving from 1 July onwards and have been housed in the past week to ensure they can be constantly observed to reduce the risk of losing such high-value offspring.

Due to the potential value of the offspring the heifers are carrying, a large majority of the calves are born by caesarean section. The shed is well designed to allow fast movement of cattle in and out of calving pens, with a large emphasis placed on keeping cows and calves moving through the shed, avoiding disease build-up.

This large 14-span shed was built in 2014 specifically for calving such high-value stock. Currently only half of the shed is fitted out with pens, with the other half used for storage of straw and machinery, etc.

The shed is 65.6m long and 24m wide. While such an expansive shed would not be suitable for every suckler farmer, there are many interesting features that suckler farmers could incorporate into a design for their own shed.

Picture 1

The plan of the shed highlights the level of detail that was involved when it was being designed.

The shed was designed to have two different functions, with one half (Section A) used to house cows or heifers before, during and after calving, and the other half (Section B) designed to act as show pens and storage.

Section A

Section A is complete and is composed of pens D6 to D9, which act as calving pens. The vet area marked on the plan was also reduced to incorporate another calving pen. These are 4.8m by 4.7m in size. There are two passages running through Section A that are 4.3m wide, which give plenty of room to drive through with a forage wagon that is used to feed cows and heifers when they are housed on the slats.

There are five slatted pens, which are 4.9m by 4.8m and are currently holding heifers that are due to calf soon. These slats are predominantly covered with mats. However, a section along the feed barrier is not covered. This is done to prevent hooves from going soft and to keep hooves short.

There is an external agitation point for the slatted tank that ensures nobody has to enter the shed during agitating.

Once calved, cows will move from the calving pens to pens D10 to D14, where the cow and calf will be kept together in a single pen for a few days. After this, they are moved to another shed that has slats and a creep area for calves.

Section B

Section B is not yet complete and is mainly used for storage. However, pens D4 and D5 have been constructed and are used to house bulls individually. The plan is to complete this section with more of these pens, with the view to the farm holding its own pedigree sale at some stage in the near future.

Picture two

All internal barriers were designed and installed by Teemore Engineering Ltd. The barriers on the calving pens were designed to suit this farm’s requirements, combining a calving gate, head spaces and an escape gate.

Escape gates are fitted in every pen in the shed to allow quick and safe movement between pens for farmers. When handling freshly calved heifers, it is vital that there is an escape point, as heifers or even cows for that matter can be dangerous after calving.

All calving pens are fitted with power sockets to allow the use of a red lamp if needed for a weak newborn calf. Pens are also fitted with a pressure washer fitting to allow quick cleaning of pens once a cow and calf get moved.

The shed is fitted with a comprehensive camera system to allow full observation of stock even when away from the shed. “It is a very specialised shed, with the whole design made to suit the system that they operate here,” said Jason Elliott of Teemore Engineering Ltd.

Pictures three and four

There is a loft above the calving pens, which is used for storage. A simple addition like this in any shed allows a farmer to fully utilise the space they have available to them. It is currently used to hold straw or hay and a safety rail is in the process of being constructed on it.

Feed barriers on slatted pens are fitted with locking head gates, which allow the safe inspection of cows and heifers that are close to calving.

The roof is fibre cement and is also fitted with smoke detectors. The shed is bright and airy with a combination of vent sheeting and an air outlet at the apex, providing adequate ventilation. In general, ventilation is not an issue due to the relatively small number of stock it holds, coupled with the prevailing wind coming from the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

Picture five

Due to the large number of caesarean sections that take place on the farm, an area for a vet to operate was incorporated in the design. This allows all the equipment that is needed at calving to be kept in the one place, with hygiene of the upmost importance.

A simple yet effective idea is to use a trolley to hold all the equipment required when calving to keep everything that is needed clean and safe from getting damaged by the cow.