SE—Structures and Environment: Deep Litter Systems for Beef Cattle housed in Uninsulated Barns, Part 2: Temperatures and Nutrients

✍ Scribed by P. Kapuinen

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 361 KB
• Volume: 80
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8634
• DOI: 10.1006/jaer.2001.0720

✦ Synopsis

The litter used in the deep litter of uninsulated buildings in beef production is expensive. Di!erent litter materials and their mixes have di!erent characteristics. It was determined that the optimum mix of straw, peat and wood chips would reduce litter consumption and still meet the animals' requirements for a thermal environment in a bench-scale study simulating the deep litter in a partially littered pen. However, this appeared to be impossible. The size of the test vessels was 60 cm by 60 cm. There were "ve di!erent combinations of litter mix of straw, peat and wood chips involved in the trials. The simulation was based on the assumption that the space allowance per suckler cow in the pen was 3)5 m on deep litter and 4)0 m on the dung alley and manure (27)5 kg day) was deposited evenly in the pen. The temperatures at three heights were measured and the highest and the average temperatures as well as the temperature pro"les of the deep litter were determined. Changes in the nutrient, carbon, moisture contents, losses and mass were measured.

The di!erence in physical structure between the "ve litter mixes tested did not cause any di!erence in the composting processes of the mixes. The di!erence in the chemical composition of the mixes did, however, cause a di!erence. The deep litter consisting of mixes with a high proportion of straw reached a high composting temperature because the straw contained more organic carbon than did the other components. The input of organic carbon into deep litter should be at least 800 g m\ day which is about 8)8}10)2 kg of litter per day and per suckler cow in an optimized partially littered pen. Hence, rather than reducing the litter consumption of deep litter, it should be increased.