While at the Penn State Dairy Nutrition Workshop in early November I attended a session by Penn State Extension Agricultural Engineer John Tyson where he discussed updates to heifer housing requirements. The goal of a heifer raising program is to provide a safe, healthy and comfortable environment that allows them to be ready for breeding between 12-15 months of age and to become a productive member of the milking herd. Management and facilities should be designed with both animal and caregiver well-being in mind. Rearing heifers is an investment, and approaching it wisely ensures that your investment performs at her best when she enters the herd.
Today’s heifers are consuming more feed and growing at a faster rate than before, and this means that management strategies need to remain dynamic. Simply put, today’s animals just don’t fit in the shelters of years past. Space, ventilation, and feeding considerations need to account for animals that are eating more, growing faster, and creating more manure and heat. A few key points and current recommendations were discussed to ensure that facilities are adequate to meet the needs of baby calves (0-2 months), transition calves (2-4 months), and heifers (4+ months).
Access to feed and water. “Water is the cheapest thing you can feed a calf”, said Tyson. Waterers should be frost-free, kept clean, easy to access and use, and at an appropriate height for the animal based on their size. Waterers should be located away from feed or lying areas so as not to restrict these spaces or complicate cleaning. For feeding calves in groups, 18 in/head (hd) of feeding space is recommended, along with slant-bar feed barriers instead of headlocks as younger animals may be reluctant to use them. Feed access for heifers should allow all animals to eat at the same time and provide 18-24 in/hd of space. Feed barriers at appropriate height (throat height 14-21 in), headlocks with adjustable neck openings, and bunk surfaces/designs that allow feed to be kept within reach (such as a J-bunk if not pushing up feed regularly) create convenient access.
Pens. For baby calves, individual pens should be a minimum of 30 ft2 but more is preferred, with at least a 2:1 (up to 3:1) length : width ratio to provide enough clean, dry lying space. Group housing for baby and transition calves should have at least 40 ft2/hd, which doesn’t include feed or watering areas. There should be enough room to provide some flexibility for occasional overcrowding, and groups should remain similar in size and age. Draft protection in the form of jackets and generous bedding will keep animals dry and warm. A combination of sawdust and straw in colder weather allows calves to nestle down, provides a barrier between soiled bedding, and could be used through the transition period. Solid pen dividers 48 to 54 in. in height separate groups. Calves like to lay against these barriers, even if cold concrete.
Bedded packs for heifers should be generously bedded and allow for 40-80 ft2 /hd of space, with an increase of ~10 ft2 for every 200 lb of body weight. Groups of heifers should be managed according to needs as they develop, such as ration changes, heat detection/breeding, and pregnancy checks.
Group pens can have either concrete or earthen floors and be easy to enter for bedding removal or addition. Strategically placed gates can allow pens to be scraped, and bedding to be removed or replenished even if the pen is occupied.
Freestalls. It has become necessary to increase the size of freestalls for heifers, and dimensions for freestalls in heifer facilities should be designed based on the size of the animals that are leaving the group, not age. The figure above lists the current recommended dimensions for closed-front freestalls based on animal weight. Grooved, slatted, or slotted floors allow for confident footing, and these surfaces should be cleaned regularly to avoid manure buildup.
Tools, like scales, to monitor growth of calves and heifers can provide information on how best to manage animals as they develop.
It’s bittersweet for me to announce that this is my last Farm Report as I will have departed Miner Institute by the time this article is published. For those of you who may remember my very first article — I still have the “No Farms, No Beer” t-shirt. I have truly enjoyed contributing to this publication over the years, and to know that it holds such great value to our readership gives me immense feelings of gratitude. May your holiday season be full of comfort, joy, and all things bright and beautiful. I’ll see you out in the world.
— Cari Reynolds