As the the chill of winter fast approaches, many of you will be preparing to bring your cows back indoors. The seasonal shift can present several challenges, including maintaining cow health, cow comfort, and productivity.

However, with the right winter housing practices in place, you can ensure an easy transition from outdoor grazing to barn, whilst boosting overall animal welfare.

Take a look at our trips for ensuring a productive winter housing season…

Ensure Proper Ventilation

The air in any housing environment should be fresh and free-flowing, without creating drafts at cow height.

Without sufficient airflow, moisture and ammonia from manure can accumulate, often leading to strong ammonia smells—an indication of poor ventilation, worsened by dirty bedding and infrequent slurry removal.

It’s essential to balance keeping the barn warm while maintaining adequate air circulation. Installing fans or using adjustable ventilation panels can help.

Our premium cubicle conditioners not only ensure a dry cubicle environment but also settle smoothly on cow mats, working in tandem with ventilation systems like fans to improve overall air quality.

Secure Quality Bedding

As your cows have returned indoors, their lying down time will have increased, making bedding quality even more important.

Before bringing the herd back indoors, it’s essential to assess the condition of your cow mats or mattresses. Look for key signs that indicate they may need replacing, such as visible splits or tears, or bedding becoming trapped between the layers. These issues can compromise cow comfort, leading to potential health problems.

Once cow comfort has been secured with quality mats or mattresses, secure your supply of cubicle conditioner, such as PowderBed, FineBed, Premium White Sawdust, or MixBed to ensure bedding environment remains moisture-free.

Our premium products are all designed to control moisture and keep your herd clean and hygienic.

Regular Hoof Care

Bringing in your herd from pasture to winter housing will result in them standing on concreate, which can increase the risk of lameness.

Quality bedding is an essential part to keeping hooves in top condition, providing cushioning and support, and a reduction in moisture and manure build up.

In addition to this, be sure to schedule regular foot bathing and foot trimming sessions. Footbaths with disinfectant solutions can help control bacterial infections like digital dermatitis.

Track Body Condition Score

Maintaining your dairy cows’ optimal body condition score is crucial during the winter months, as indoor feeding and reduced physical activity can lead to weight gain or loss.

Regular monitoring is advised to help adjust feeding programs as needed. To support this, it’s essential to provide a comfortable environment—achieved through proper bedding and the use of cubicle conditioners. This ensures cows remain stress-free, promoting healthy weight management.

Adequate lighting 

Adequate lighting can play a significant role in maintaining cow productivity and health. This is because light has an inhibitory effect of the enzyme involved with melatonin production, which can affect both quantity and quality.

Studies have shown that the optimum day length is 16 hours at a light intensity of between 160 and 200 lux. Dark periods should be eight hours at below 50 lux but greater than 30 lux.

There are many modern lighting options available that are energy efficient, including the use of fixed light sensors and timers.

Check for any Potential Building Repairs 

Before winter fully sets in, take time to check your barns and sheds for any structural damage.

From leaking roofs to broken gates, small issues can quickly become big problems when your cows are indoors full-time. A well-maintained building helps keep the environment dry and comfortable for your herd.

Combine these efforts with our cubicle conditioners to ensure that not only is your structure sound, but your cow’s bedding is clean and moisture-free, even in the coldest months.

Ready to top up on cubicle conditioners ahead of the winter months? Request a quote here or call our team on 01978 854 666.