Slatted shed and feed store combination

The sheds are on the farm of Pat Barron, Slane, Co Meath. The steelwork was put up by Mooneys of Slane and concrete work was done by Brian McCabe, Co Louth.

Picture one

The suckler shed is four bays long and spans 11m (36ft) with another seven feet of canopy overhanging the feed apron. The canopy is 4m (13ft) high to allow a diet wagon to pass underneath. The slatted shed is 5.2m (17ft) high in the middle.

The shed is built at the edge of Pat’s yard on falling ground – the slatted shed beside where silage bales are stored, the feed store at the far end, near the road. However, the feed apron is level with the surrounding yard area – important at feeding time. Only when the bedded area is being cleaned out in spring will the tractor meet a bit of slope at the near gable end of the shed.

Picture two

The elevated site, allied to the open front, means that this shed will be very airy. The cladding at the back is vented and there is a central roof opening with canopy.

The roof timbers and the undersides of the roof cladding in this shed can be expected to remain dry, while damaging gases should escape quickly. This will maximise the shed’s working life.

The field area at the back of the shed is lower than the floor of the shed – it’s not a problem.

Picture three

Inside it’s a straightforward layout. Slatted pens for the cows are at the front, a 5m (17ft) wide bedded creep area for calves behind.

The slats are 12ft 6in but a big toe space at the feed barrier means the front pens are 18ft wide. The 5ft wide toe space gives Pat plenty of accommodation at reasonable cost – additional floor slab is cheaper than additional slatted area.

Concrete beside a feed barrier tends to stay reasonably clean. Pat has a similar arrangement in another shed and it works well. He has enough slurry storage.

In terms of animal area, the front pens are 5m x 5.5m = 27m2. The recommended area required per dry suckler cow is xm2 to xm2 so these pens will hold a maximum of 11 cows.

The bedded pens are 5m x 5.1m = 26m2 (17ftx16ft). The recommended area to be allowed for calves is 2m2 to 2.5m2, depending on whether cows are spring or autumn calving, etc. So the layout here gives plenty of bedded area.

There are two clear sheets per bay to let in plenty of daylight.

Picture four

The shed steel is well put together. It includes cross-bracing in the first bay of the winter shed and, at the other end, in the feed store.

The main purpose of the various kinds of bracing used in sheds is to increase ability to withstand pressure from wind or loading from sitting snow, etc.

It also gives a shed structure additional rigidity, which should help to maximise its working life.

Picture five

Key requirements for a feed shed include making it weather and bird proof and, ideally, ensuring there is enough head height to allow a lorry or trailer tip.

Height for tipping is required at the doorway. Here, it’s 6.7m (22ft) high which will generally allow a bulk load be tipped inside under the roof, depending on lorry size.

The centre of the roof is 7.9m (26ft) high.

The reinforced, shuttered wall at the back is 2.1m (7ft) high.

The shed has been fitted with an electrically operated roller door – some flashing was yet to be fitted.

The man door on the right fits snugly to keep out birds. To fit the two doors, the bay is 6.7m (22ft) wide and, as a result, the purlins are steel.

The roof is covered with non-drip cladding. All cladding in this shed is from Duggan Steel.

Pictures six to ten

Internal fit-out was carried out by Condon Engineering, Collon, Co Louth. The diagonal feed barriers (picture six) are hinged at both ends.

All hinges can be opened by lifting the pin (picture seven). The two nuts on the hinge shaft act as adjusters.

The creep gate (picture eight) is telescopic, sliding in and out of the bars of the pen gate.

It can be adjusted by lifting up this pin (picture nine) which is on a spring. The drinkers (picture ten) have two sturdy protection bars and there is a steel cover over the ballcock and valve.

Pat Barron has now had slat mats fitted, supplied by Crumb Rubber, Dromiskin, Co Louth.

Cost

Pat Barron buys in bulk cattle meals and some grain at harvest. Until now, meal was kept in a covered trailer so the new feed store will be very convenient. The slatted shed and feed store will cost him approximately €70,000 all in, he said. Mooneys of Slane are in the shed business for 35 years. Peter Mooney (087-6809145) oversaw the work here. He told me that a useful rule of thumb for steelwork is €2,500 to €3,000 per bay, depending on site, span, spec, etc.