Weather Resistant Steel Structure Cattle & Sheep Sheds for Outdoor Farm Breeding
Clean and comfortable Cattle sheds help create a nurturing environment for calves, reduces the risk of disease and encourages high growth rates. Having an appropriate set up and rearing system will help create a comfortable environment for calves that also helps maximise energy intakes and growth. Young calves are particularly vulnerable to environmental stresses. Their limited ability to regulate body temperature, developing immune systems, and high surface area to body weight ratio mean that housing decisions have a direct impact on their energy balance, health status, and welfare.
Effective calf housing goes beyond providing basic shelter – it creates an environment that supports natural behaviours, minimises disease risk, and optimises growth potential. By focusing on calf comfort through appropriate bedding, adequate space, proper ventilation, and meaningful enrichment, you're investing in the future productivity and welfare of your herd.
Housing is just one component of successful calf rearing, but it's a foundation that influences every other aspect of calf management. Comfortable, healthy calves are easier to manage, more resilient to challenges, and more likely to develop into productive, long-lived dairy cows.
When planning or modifying calf housing systems, consider these key principles:
- Comfort over convenience. While ease of management is important, calf comfort should be the primary consideration. Comfortable calves grow faster, stay healthier, and require less intervention. Regularly assess your facilities from the calf's viewpoint. What seems adequate from human height may be very different at calf level.
- Design for natural behaviours. Ensure housing allows calves to express normal behaviours including lying, playing, grooming, and exploring. Restrictive environments compromise welfare and development.
- Flexibility. Calf needs change as they grow, and seasonal conditions vary. Design systems that can be adjusted for different calf sizes, group sizes, and weather conditions.
- Reduce competition. Design feed, water, and resting areas to minimise competition between calves. Shy or smaller calves should still be able to access all resources comfortably.
Shelter
Housing for calves is more than just calf pens, and it is important to think about once calves are out in the paddock. As we predominantly calve during spring, outdoor conditions are not always optimal when we get calves outside.
Optimal calf temperature sits between 15-25°C, so the likelihood of dropping below these temperatures over spring is quite high. Once calves are in cold or wet weather, the level of energy required for maintenance and warmth increases, reducing the amount of energy available for growth. Providing shelter for the calves will help minimise the amount of time that the calves are exposed to cold or wet conditions, making it more comfortable for them and helping to increase their ability to grow.
Although outdoor shelters are ideal and provide a high level of comfort, there are some simple, yet effective things that you can do to help reduce exposure of your calves. These include using paddocks with trees or hedges or running some tin/canvas along a fence line to prevent a prevailing wind.
