Although hutches pose challenges when the weather is wet — particularly for the people taking care of calves — it is not recommended to add an additional roof over the hutches as this will limit ventilation, says Becky Brotzman, veterinarian and associate outreach specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
“Calf hutches rely on wind to ventilate, so although a roof would decrease the rain and snow falling in front of the hutches, it will also limit fresh air delivery to calves inside. This could be particularly problematic in the summer, when ventilation rates must be much higher to deal with heat, and when we already need to prop up hutches on cinder blocks to allow more wind to enter the hutch,” Brotzman said in a recent issue of Vita Plus Starting StrongCalf Care E-news.
Take this survey
Researchers at the University of Kentucky are conducting a survey to better understand dairy producer technology needs. They want to hear from you, even if you don’t use cowmonitoring technologies on your farm.
Cow-monitoring technologies include those used to monitor cows for heat, mastitis, lameness, or illness detection.
All responses to the survey are completely anonymous. No identification data is requested or recorded. To complete the survey, go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/dairymonitoringtechnologies
Source: Dairy Herd Network
