How Much Space Does a Beef Cow Need
Angus heifer eating from a feed bunk. Courtesy of the Beef Producers Working Group
There are some primal points to consider when designing a new beef cow barn, or when retrofitting an older barn to handle mature beef cows. Overcrowding is a business when housing whatsoever animals in confinement. For beef cattle, in that location is a hierarchy, or a pecking order, which can reduce feed consumption in those cows that fall lower in the hierarchy. Cows lower in the hierarchy oft include young, growing heifers that need additional nutrients. To maximize moo-cow wellness and functioning of all mature beef cows, it is important to ensure that they take adequate pen and bunk space.
Brute housing requirements, both pen size and linear bunk space, are published for all animals in the FASS Guidelines for Beast Intendance and Utilise (FASS, 2020) and are summarized below for breeding beefiness cattle.
Space Requirements
Breeding cattle space requirements differ depending on housing type, mature body weight, and feed direction. When designing a lot or barn, maximize the space inside a given range. A key to successful planning is anticipating concern growth (ie. increasing the moo-cow herd). Calculate animal pen and bunk space requirements and be sure to let room for growth, without compromising cattle status or performance. Tabular array 1 outlines spacing requirements for bred heifers, mature cows, and bulls.
Table 1. Floor or ground area and feeder space recommendations for beef cattle
| Expanse / Space: Floor or footing area Barns (unheated cold housing) | Bred Heifers, 800 lbs. | Cows, grand lbs. | Cows, 1300 lbs. | Bulls, 1500 lbs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open up front end with dirt lot | 20 to 25 | twenty to 25 | 25 to 30 | 40 |
| Enclosed, bedded pack | 30 to 35 | 35 to 40 | 40 to 50 | 45 to fifty |
| Enclosed, slotted flooring | 18 to 25 | twenty to 25 | 22 to 28 | 30 |
| Area or Space: Feeder infinite when fed | Bred Heifers, 800 lbs. | Cows, chiliad lbs. | Cows, 1300 lbs. | Bulls, 1500 lbs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Once daily, limited feed access | 22 to 26 | 24 to 30 | 26 to 30 | 30 to 36 |
| Twice daily, limited feed access | 11 to xiii | 12 to 15 | 12 to 15 | -- |
| High-fodder diet, ad libitum | 11 to 12 | 12 to 13 | xiii to fourteen | -- |
Example
The following example (Figure one) was designed to farther the understanding of designing a new barn: Imagine you desire to business firm your 200 head moo-cow herd (1,300 lbs./caput) in an enclosed, unheated barn on a bedpack. Cattle would get limited admission to feed twice daily on one long side of the befouled. The bunk space required for a i,300 lbs. cow being fed twice daily is 15 in/head. Thus, the total bunk space required for 200 cows is 250 ft (xv in/caput x 200 caput = 3,000 in / 12 in/ft = 250 ft). The bed pack space required for a cow at 1,300 lbs. is 50 ft2/head. In total, the barn would need to be x,000 ft2 (l fttwo/caput x 200 head = 10,000 ft2). Since cows are fed on 1 length of the barn, the width of the barn can exist determined. The other side of the building should be 40 ft (ten,000 ftii / 250 ft = 40 ft).
Alternatively, now imagine feeding the cows in the same scenario on both lengths of the barn. With the bunk space split between two sides, each side would demand to be 125 ft (250 ft / 2 sides = 125/side). In this scenario, the width of the barn would be 80 ft (ten,000 ftii / 125 ft = 80 ft). Figure 2 depicts the dimensions for a barn feeding twice daily on 2 sides of the barn. Notation: if y'all are unrolling and feeding free-choice hay to your cow herd, then these barn layouts would work for your operation as well. If you lot utilise 8-foot round bale feeders, approximately ten feeders are needed to provide the bunk space needed.
Barns that are being refurbished for cattle should have the stocking density determined based on pen size and linear bunk space available. In some older barn scenarios, bunk space is the outset limitation to the number of animals that can be housed in a facility. Remember, shorting cattle of pen or bunk infinite can limit feed intake, thus, limiting cow performance. If you lot are because placing cattle in existing facilities, consider the space requirements carefully.
Feeding Area
On the sides that cattle are fed, physical flatwork is recommended to prevent feed waste material. Make sure hay or feed is placed on a solid surface, such equally a concrete surface or a feed bunk, to go on feed independent and forbid cattle from consuming debris, like stones. Keep the pen separated from the feed bunk. Physical curbing between the pen and the feeding space can provide the separation needed to not waste feed resources.
At that place are many different methods to secure cattle in pens, nevertheless allow cattle to eat from a feedbunk that is separated from the pen they reside in. 1 method is to incorporate a headlock or caput gate that allows cattle to put their head through the gate, but this method can cause shoulder jostling and bruising when cattle swallow at the feed bunk. Paradigm 1 demonstrates cattle eating through neckslants. Some other method is to use a neck rail that allows cattle to reach through to the feed bunk. A neck runway volition prevent shoulder jostling and bruising because there are not vertical bars for cattle to press against. Images two through 4 shows different examples of a neck rails.
Crossbred beefiness cattle eating feed through neckslants. Courtesy of Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State.
Charolais-based cattle eating feed through a cable and metal cervix rail. Courtesy of Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State.
Crossbred cattle eating feed through a wooden neck rail. Courtesy of Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State.
Conclusion
Adequate pen and bunk space for breeding stock is extremely important for to maximize moo-cow health, performance, and happiness. Based on cattle social lodge, less ascendant animals could take restricted intake, resulting in declined health, functioning, and happiness. If barns are overstocked, consider downsizing your herd or investing into larger facilities to handle the herd size. To have a successful operation that will concluding the test of time, ensure that cattle are placed in an expanse that allows for adequate pen and bunk space.
References
FASS. 2020. Guide for the Intendance and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Educational activity. FASS Champaign, IL.
Source: https://extension.psu.edu/beef-cow-pen-and-bunk-spacing-requirements
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