Construction of Shelters

[outofthebox]

We just finished construction of the third shelter and I was wondering what others do to ‘line’ their dexter shelters to aid in a more temperate environment?

We have insulated the colourbond roofing to soften the hard rain and hail echo but the walls need something that will be long lasting and manageable.

We have thought another layer of colourbond somewhat buried into the ground with some wrapping of snake and mouse wire around it before burying to stop mice and rats from nesting within the insulation we would sandwich between the sheets.

We don’t have snow but can get early morning temps below freezing with all day icy winds.

So wondering what others have done especially those who have snow falls

[cddexter]

Donlin, is this you with a new nom de guerre? cheers, c.

[lakeportfarms]

What Sheri said, though shade would be nice for them in the summer. We have ours in an old apple orchard and do managed grazing, so they always have access to shade during the hottest part of the day in the summer months because the strips run between the trees.

[marion]

Well insulation would be nice, but my enclosed barn is heavy plywood on 2X6 studs, lined with plywood creating the 5 1/2 inch dead-air space. There is a hayloft over the housing for insulation against the winter cold and summer heat. If wind is the main issue and the temps only go to around freezing, you shouldn't need insulation or a second layer of outer wall for cold protection. However, if the outer wall is steel it would be better lined with wood for protection and to minimize sweating.marion

[zephyrhillsusan]

Sorry, not sure what colourbond is.

However, if the outer wall is steel it would be better lined with wood for protection and to minimize sweating.

Read more: dextercattle.proboards.com/thread/4000/construction-shelters#ixzz2yE19G55e

Ditto to what Marion said.  I've heard some horror stories, about horses it is true, but cattle do manage to get themselves into situations!  I've heard at least two stories about horses that kicked out while in a steel-sided barn and put a hoof through the steel.  In one case no one was around and the horse severed its foot trying to get free. In the other case I believe the owners were there and managed to extricate it before permanent damage was done.  My horses are barefoot and might not be able to kick through steel, but because of these stories if we can ever afford to reside our wood plank-clad barn in steel, I'll have them put the steel directly over the wood on the outside.  And to be doubly sure, any exposed areas inside will get plywood sheathing 4' high.  When my DH built two stalls in that barn I made him line them with 2x's going up 4' high in one and 5' high in the other.  My mares are used to stalls now, as are our cows, but when the older mare was much younger and stabled at a boarding facility, one day I saw her go berserk for no reason I could ever tell.  There was a small window about 6' high, and she tried her best to go out through it.  (I decided not to ride that day!)  Fortunately the barn was wood, so she didn't get hurt.

[lakeportfarms]

Are we talking about an actual barn or just a "run in". I can understand building a barn so well, Marion's barn sounds great (don't store any damp square bales up there in the loft!). But since this is the "third", I was assuming these were just a run in somewhere in each pasture. Just a windbreak is usually enough, though I do feel a bit bad for them in the cold rain.

[carragheendexters]

Susan,
Colorbond is a trademarked product here in Australia of coated metal sheeting, what we put on our house roofs or build sheds or fences with. Most town councils don't allow galvanised sheeting, it has to be painted or coated.

I think that probably heat and shade is more of an issue here in Australia, in most areas it doesn't get that cold here ,only the alpine areas and mountain areas get snow, and only for a few months of the year. Frosts and a bit of weather below 0 C doesn't really compare to the weather you guys get over there. Our coldest weather where we live doesn't get much below -5 C during the night. Daytime temps are usually above freezing and quite pleasant with the sun out.

regards Louise

[marion]

Apr 7, 2014 14:48:30 GMT -5 lakeportfarms said:

Are we talking about an actual barn or just a "run in". I can understand building a barn so well, Marion's barn sounds great (don't store any damp square bales up there in the loft!). /quote]

Hey Hans! After forty plus years of making or buying hay, I've learned a thing or two You pretty much know what you've got by the feel of the bales. Anything heavy gets tossed on the ground while the 'fit' ones go up the elevator to the loft. Check the heavy ones and if necessary cut the strings to let them breath. Usually just the occasional one, and it gets to cure a while and then fed out. Any mouldy slices go on the compost. A nice big dry well-ventilated area is handy to salvage a larger quantity of slightly damp otherwise good hay, breaking open the bales and jumbling the flakes loosely around to cure (Or if almost but not quite cured..stook on end in groups of four to sun cure). My loft is tiny, so the square bales I've been buying the last few years are stored a short distance away in the other guy's barn, brought to mine as needed. He makes good hay and would never store unfit bales, so I'm double sure no heated or heating ones will ever go into my loft.. marion

[outofthebox]

Marion, plywood sounds good. That’s what we need to do is insulate against the cold of the steel and the sweating aspect. Will flag that with the bloke and see what he says.

Steel was chosen because of termites but that is where its practicality stays.

Zephyrhillsusan, certainly what we would like to avoid for sure. Don’t need feet and legs going through and slicing them up.

Lakeportfarms, yes a ‘run in’. Three sides and a roof, and water tank. They use the run ins more often than we originally thought they would, especially through winter nights.

Carragheendexters, cold winters with winds that go straight to the bone and roasting summers certainly does beat months of snow covered ground.

Our motto is happy cows are healthy and tasty cows so shelters arent much of a problem to construct.

[lakeportfarms]

Marion, I certainly didn't think you would store damp bales, but it's always a good idea to mention it if somebody new isn't aware. Sheril still gets upset when we drive from the house to the farm as her favorite barn burned to the ground last summer with the hay elevator aimed where the door up top used to be. Fortunately no animals were kept in the barn.

Outofthebox I'm surprised your cows go into the run in at all. We have small boxes for our calves and they like it in the poor weather, but the cows usually just hang out under a tree. Of course with around 100 of them we'd need a pretty big run in! Our winters are certainly much more severe here, as are Marion's and some of the others here. Plywood though is good, because the metal can be sharp if they hit it in the wrong way.

[outofthebox]

Hi Redridge

We put the first shelter / run in up as we had calves dropping in the dead of winter from recently purchased cows and soon discovered that many were using it very regularly instead of the bushland area. The herd keeps growing and so does the need for more run-ins.

Bacteria requires warm, moist and undisturbed areas to grow in. We have low to nil humidity. Poop with soiled straw, is picked up near daily and dumped on compost.

Free ranging are just over 100 guinea fowl that clean up anything as well as ridding the property of water rats, mice, insects, ticks, mites and snakes.

Had chickens for years and with the intro of the guinea fowl, haven’t had ticks, mites or an illness since.
The GF also helped with the treatment and preventative management of the Sarcoptes scabiei mite which causes life-threatening mange in the resident wombats.

Havent had a sick wombat for over 5 years. We have only read about scours, milk fever and other ‘common’ aliments in cattle but havent had a sick cow or calf _yet_. So maybe the run ins are a savings in medical bills

[carragheendexters]

Hi Donna,

You may have some problems if you line the shed with plywood , (or any wood product) with termites, they just love to eat the soft wood products. If you were going to go up that path, I would use something a bit more sturdy such as a heavy particle board such as yellow tongue or even more preferable would be green tongue as it has been treated for termite prevention. You would have to treat it for termites and seal it, as once moisture gets in it will swell and start to break down, making it even more tasty to the termites.

Just for you northerners (LOL) Australia has major issues with termites, they eat everything. That is why we don't use timber very much over here to build things such as houses, barns, etc. the termites just chew it up. Some people even use metal frames for their houses in the really bad areas. They even chewed up my telephone line, when the repairmen came to see why the phone wasn't working, they had to dig the line up and replace it. They are the bane of our lives.

You would also want to use something pretty strong, as cattle being cattle will trash it otherwise, rubbing their heads and shoulders on the walls and on the framework.

We have a stable with a yard off of it, and also the old dairy has been converted to undercover sheep/Dexter yards and pens, we have a small race, a shearing stand and a few pens which can be used if we need to house an animal indoors for any reason.

My cows are the same as what you northerner's cattle are, they don't particularly like to go indoors either, they like to be able to shelter under their favourite trees. When we have used the stable and yard on occasions, such as recently we kept a cow and her new calf there, she went down last year with milk fever, so we wanted her close to hand in case she needed urgent treatment, most of the time she stayed outside in the yard, even though we were getting pretty heavy rain. She only went inside the stable to eat her feed and her hay, and then came back outside. Even her new calf stayed outside, curled up in a corner against the stable wall for shelter.

Didn't you get any of that rain? What a shame. We have had wonderful rainfall on both our coastal and inland property, we are having a wonderful autumn break, and the pasture has taken off setting us up for a good amount of winter feed. And of course now we are suffering with the humidity. We are having a heavy dew each morning, and even during the day the humidity is till around the 60-70%, and of course up around 99% at evening, night and early morning.

Straw is a very expensive commodity in Australia. We pay more for straw than what you northern guys pay for your hay. Most of the straw that you can buy from the usual suppliers/produce stores, we pay around $11 for a small square, and it is usually crappy rice straw not cereal straw. I always worry when we are using that straw that my cows will eat it and cause an obstruction due to its indigestibility. I try and buy our straw from a grower so that it is cereal straw and safe for the cows to eat.

I am just wondering how guinea fowl can have any effect on Sarcoptes mites (scabies) in regards to the wombats. Sarcoptes live their life on their host, burrowing down under the skin, causing the hair loss as you describe in the wombats, or red lumps and tracks when in humans, and transferring from host to host by contact. Your observation is intriguing.

regards Louise

[outofthebox]

Well it could be possible that our observations over the years is not up to date with your read-knowledge on wombats and mange.

From our experiences, it is only the female who buries itself below the skin, and that is to lay eggs.

Or are you also a trained wild-life carer amongst the many other things you appear to be?

[carragheendexters]

Hi Donna,

me a wildlife carer? No, just my friends and vets are. I have thought about becoming involved but I think Don would kill me if I did. I don't have time for that as well as everything else that I do. Too involved in my own animals and the courses and workshops that I am currently doing, not much time for anything else.

regards Louise

[outofthebox]

Louise, your apparent need to seek me out has me quite intrigued. I have never signed my name to any post under this name.
Does Marion or one of the other moderators have something to add here regarding the actual privacy of private messages between members?

Why is it that at the recent DCAI AGM you were very uncomfortable when even looking in my direction, and it was noted by others how abruptly you would walk away as I approached – several times.

Yet on this forum, in print, you have no problem not only engaging in conversations with me, but questioning and / or challenging the authentication of even my observations and experiences?

Do I, or something I have, swirl a need in you to seek me out for constant analysis, questioning, for the sole purpose to rebuke or reprove my written words?

Maybe when you are next heading to your coastal property from your inland one, you could drop in on your way pass so we could discuss further?