Keep air moving over calves in the cold weather

Even in cold weather, air temperature is less important than air quality, particularly for young calves, so farmers should be very wary about making a building airtight in an attempt to warm it up.

"Blocking holes and shutting up all the doors and windows may increase the temperature, but the air quality is likely to be terrible," Tim Miller, environmental specialist with the A Proctor Group told a meeting on calf pneumonia organised by the Woods Veterinary Group at Westbury on Severn, near Gloucester.

"If the calves have a dry straw bed, then temperature is not an issue. The calves do need ventilation, but not draughts," he said.

He pointed out that, in some non-purpose-built houses it is virtually impossible to get natural ventilation to work for young calves. "Where calves are housed in a building that has a lean-to on each side, solid walls or older cattle in each side then the only way is to use a powered system to avoid an environment which predisposes to outbreaks of pneumonia."

For further information contact:

Tim Miller

A Proctor Group

e-mail: tim.miller@proctorgroup.com

01432 354380