Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Lowdown on Calf Housing

What a great resource on calf housing.


This Washington State University Veterinary Medicine Extension publication reviews these aspects of calf housing including:
  • Ventilation
  • Resting, Lying, Bedding, and Hygiene
  • Cold Effects
  • Heat Stress
I noted a paragraph dealing with REM sleep and its relationship to resting space per calf.
"Calves need enough space to attain total relaxation and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Their environment also needs to be sufficiently warm for temperature regulation and to attain REM sleep."

Hmmmm. Does this suggest that overcrowding calves isn't the best managment practice?
What amount of clean and dry resting space do you have for your preweaned calves?

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