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Why Renovate the Old Tie-Barn? The Why, What, How and Results from Our 3 Year Experience. Rob and Darlene Howland Howland Acres Candor, NY. Howland Acres – Rob & Darlene Howland, Candor *100 Cows and their Replacements, ~200 total
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Why Renovate the Old Tie-Barn? The Why, What, How and Results from Our 3 Year Experience Rob and Darlene Howland Howland Acres Candor, NY
Howland Acres – Rob & Darlene Howland, Candor *100 Cows and their Replacements, ~200 total *85 Lbs. Milk/Milk Cow in tank, year ‘round (after renovation) *Pasture system for all heifers over 350 lbs. & dry cows *380 Acres Total - 100 Acres Woodland - 150 Acres Pasture - 100 Acres Hay Crop - 30 Acres Corn Silage *Cows are currently sending 5th Daughter through college
Brief History *1974 Dairy at rented facility *1976 began Dairy at current site - a bit of a struggle - 74 stalls - 39” – 48” stall widths, 54” – 64” stall lengths - Swing stanchions, no dividers
*1981 fairly major renovation in use through mid-2006 - “Conventional wisdom” at time – 48” W x 72” L - Went 48” W x 69” L as compromise - 12 stalls 54” W for largest cows (not divisible) - Ended up with 70 stalls - 1988 Barn cleaner improved/moved out 80 stalls - Teat injuries decreased from 20 per year to 4 - Expected production improvement materialized
1981 - 2006 All but 12 stalls: 48” x 69”
Side View: Neck rail 4” forward from curb. Neck rail 36” above cow bed.
What got us thinking? May 25, 2005 How does your farm rate on cow comfort? by Kathy Zurbrigg, OMAF (someone cares about us tie-barns!) …as well as: *Stalls rusting off *Production ceiling hit *Possibility of getting all of the benefits without full concrete bust-out and re-pour.
Further Reflection in 2005/2006… (-) At 57 years old, why do something like this? (-)Next generation? 4 remaining years of college commitment (2009) Want to be 100% debt free at that time (2009) …So, must cash flow and be paid off in 4 years or less
Other Influences… 1996 heifer barn fire and consequential rebuilding as free-stall facility (comfort/labor savings) got us to question utility of tie-barn
Other Influences cont. … But the installation of tunnel ventilation in 2000 changed that view. The potential for a more forgiving resting and standing surface (mattress) and all hardware surrounding the cow (loop divider, height of tie-bar) and possibly a little more elbow room is too great to ignore!
A Major Consideration – to bust concrete or leave it Does current 48” W x 69” L (12 of 80 are 54” W) fit the cow size pattern in herd? What percent of the improvement in cow comfort and reduction in injuries is attributable to the mattress, loop stall divider and appropriate tie bar height vs. the width and length of the stall? (couldn’t wait to hear Dr. Anderson’s talk!) …to answer that we used the “cow imprint” measuring technique
Rump Height Hip (Hook) Width
Aged Cows Bold = Cows needing more than current 69” L or 48” W Bold Italic = Cows beyond 72” length needs
2 Yr. old Cows Bold = Cows needing more than current 69” L or 48” W Bold Italic = Cows beyond 72” length needs
Why – II Why This Particular Stall “Package”?
Dr. Neil Anderson (DVM) Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Dr. Anderson and others in the Animal Behavior/Cow Comfort arena did the industry a big favor by applying video and other technologies to determine what cow comfort truly is. Dr. Anderson applied this knowledge to the tiestall as well as the freestall. You will see 3 short videos a few slides on showing the “natural cow” in a pasture setting telling us just how much space she really needs to be comfortable in her stall and to be free of hardware obstructions when getting up and down.
Cows are pretty much all the same size, right?! Fig. 2. Several cow measurements taken on standing cows are useful for building stalls. Other essential measurements are imprint length and imprint width of resting cows.
Measurements of mature Canadian Holsteins at a local dairy herd and some calculated proportions. For example, mature cows had a rump height of 60 inches, a nose-to-tail length of 8.5 feet and a hook bone width of 25 inches. Their weight exceeded 1550 pounds.
Table 1. Body dimensions, example measurements for mature Holsteins, and estimated ratios to rump height and hook-bone width
Figure 3. Imprint length extends from the folded foreknee to the tail. This length defines the bed length of a stall. Nose-to-tail length describes the measurement from the tail to the nose of a cow standing with her head forward. A cow has a normal crook in her neck when lying and her nose-to-tail length is less than while standing. Imprint length describes the length from folded foreknee to tail while lying in the narrow position. It defines the bed length needed for resting with all body parts on the stall. Imprint length is greater when the cow extends her front legs forward in normal resting positions.
Figure 4. For the rear view of the cow in the photo, imprint width extends from the left hock to the right abdomen - a distance of about 52 inches for this cow. It increases when the rear legs extend outwards or the cow reclines in wide resting positions.
Figure 5. While rising freely on pasture, a cow uses the forward, downward and vertical space outlined by the white lines in the photograph. While rising, this cow lunged forward about 22% of her resting nose-to-tail length. Side Front Rear The space needed for lying and rising motions (lunging) extends forward, downward and upward forehead lunge and bob, vertically and forward for standing and laterally for hindquarter movements. Knowledge of this space is essential for properly sizing the opening at the front of tie stalls, positioning tie rails, choosing the shape and dimensions of stall dividers and avoiding hazards when turning out of stalls.
Table 2. Stall dimensions, estimated relationships to body dimensions and example calculations for mature Holsteins in a study herd.
Figure 6. A tie rail placed 48 inches above the mattress and 86 inches forward of the gutter curb allows medium size cows (about 58 inch rump height) to stand straight in the stall. While standing idly chewing their cuds, their poll will be at tie rail height and behind it and most of their head will extend below and forward of the tie rail. Larger cows will stand diagonally in stalls with those measurements.
Figure 7. In most barns, the divider provides support for milk lines and separation of cows in adjacent stalls. This divider leaves about 30 inches of space for cows to back into an adjacent stall when exiting. The top pipe drops down at the back so a cow can easily swing her head over it. This style is suitable for herds feeding TMR.
Figure 8. A cow friendly manger curb has beveled corners. The curb acts as an obstruction to forward extension of the legs. To get room for this normal behaviour, cows lie diagonally in their stalls with their front legs stretched into the neighboring bed. A common curb height is 10 inches and this decreases to 8 or less inches on the cow side with the addition of a rubber filled mattress or ample bedding. Despite the 8-inch height, many cows will extend their legs forward into the manger. Therefore, the curb should have rounded, beveled or smoothed edges.
Figure 9. Stalls with ample width and length allow freedom to rest in normal positions. Because of longer chains, cows are cleaner from self-grooming and they show more visible signs of estrous.
Figure 10. The distance from the top of the water bowl to the vertical obstruction is greater than the nose to poll length of the cows. This assures easy access to water. There is also adequate space below the bowl for sweeping the mangers. If a manger divide is installed, and the bowl mounted within it, it must have about a 30-inch opening for easy access to the water.
Figure 11. For Holsteins in stalls with 70 - 72-inch platforms, the trainer should be 48 inches (range 47 - 49) forward of the gutter curb. For Jerseys in stalls with 62 - 66-inch platforms, the forward location is 42 inches (range 41 - 43). Remember that they are trainers and should be located about 2 inches above the chine for a 24 - 48-hour training period. After training, raise them to 4 inches. They can be lowered for 24-hours of remedial training but must be raised again afterwards. The trainer must have a height adjustment for each cow.
Figure 12. The trainer is located at the chine and slightly ahead of the point where the back begins to arch when a cow defecates or urinates. The trainers should be located at least 2 inches (five-cm) above the chime.
Figure 13. The diagram shows a tie stall with a head rail. The table shows variations in stall dimensions for Holstein cows - First Lactation, Milking and Dry Cows. Nonetheless, it's good advice to measure your cows before deciding on stall sizes.
Now for the “What? Goals Clean Beds Dry Beds No Struggle Getting Up Why? Reduce Mastitis Reduce Foot Problems Reduce Performance Impairing Injuries
Did Decide to go to 72” L – Jackhammer curb and manger to find 3” more stall length
Start of Day 2 – Strip forms, hook up waterers, then pour manger and section of bed behind curb
“Anti-theft” pipe and clamps from old stalls added to new loop.
Ouch! Neck Compression Junction of old and new – front view. Note height and forward position of neck rail
Front of new divider still had to accommodate computer feeder.
World of difference – steel relative to bone, cartilage and soft tissue!
Some 54” Stalls Called for 2 Trainers with “Comedian” Cows Lessons Learned – Adaptations Made
