Post-parturition isolation pen

Calves are most vulnerable in their first few days of life. Therefore, it is highly recommended that single pens or individual sheds be provided. Neither should there be any calving cows or other older animals in a post-parturition isolation pen.

Advantages

Advantages of separate housing in individual boxes are: 

• limits risk of passing on diseases
• convenient monitoring of health, feed intake and digestion
• better protection against draughts
• limits licking and sucking between the animals
• easy way of creating dry and clean prostrate place using mesh grills under the straw

Requirements

The following requirements are specified: 

• dimensions: 60 – 75 cm wide and 1.30 cm long
• removable mesh grill with a mesh width of 2.5 cm
• mesh grill should be at least 15 cm above the floor
• height of side wall is approx. 110 cm above the mesh grille
• side wall should be of smooth, polished material (easy to clean)

Front area

The front area should be placed in such a way that there will be space for: 

• weaning bucket for storage feed (weaning nipple ± 60 to 70 cm above the grille)
• trough for concentrates (possibly mixed with alfalfa)
• bucket for drinking water
• a hay rack on the partition wall

Boxes should be situated in such a way that it will be easy to walk behind the calves for inspection purposes. Placing the boxes in two or more groups will make it possible – depending on the farm size – to adopt an “all in/all out” system.
The individual boxes can be placed both in a closed pen as well as in an open pen (for example, below a shed with a roof).


Calf igloos

In many cases, a good alternative to a post-parturition isolation pen is to install external hooks or “calf igloos”. Here, calves can be accommodated throughout the entire milking/feeding period.

Points of attention:

• the person responsible for the calves must take care of them in all types of weather
• feeding roughage and concentrates requires extra attention
• there must be a hard floor with a slope for convenient removal and collection of liquid manure, dung and rain water
• the opening of the igloo should face south or south-east, or be at a maximum of 3 m from the pen wall
• the change-over from igloo (outdoors) to the young cow pen (indoors) may cause problems, especially if the young cow pen does not have a very good climate.