http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctrQWgD2gwYIn 2009 new housing was built on the Dodds family’s Woore Hall farm near Crewe and a wooden kennel system was chosen mainly because of the reduced cost.
Jonathan Dodds said the wooden cubicle system cost him about $1000/cubicle compared with the $2000/cubicle he would have paid for a metal span shed and cubicles.
The house is 35 cubicles long with a 4.5m lane between the rows. He said any longer than 35 cubicles long and it became more difficult to scrape the lanes with the scraper behind a tractor.
A central slatted area with underground slurry channels to the slurry pond will overcome the length limitation.
Slatted timber walls known as Yorkshire board are commonplace on many housing systems in England and Ireland. They allow air ventilation, keep out the wind and keep bedding dry but farmers say they’re not absolutely necessary.
All farmers agreed the kennel housing is higher maintenance than other cubicle sheds. The wooden partitions can break if enough force is applied by a cow or machinery so will require regular attention. The framing in the cubicles is finished to give a smooth surface for cow comfort.
The kennel design has a wooden partition or leg extending from the roof (acting as support) to the edge of the cubicle and this has to be taken into account when selecting matting or using machinery to put bedding into the cubicles.
As with all cubicle housing adequate loafing area is required and in the Dodds’ case cows have continuous access to an outside concrete yard where silage is fed in concrete troughs as did cows in other kennel housing seen.
