Deep Bedding for Cattle: Our Experience
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- A deep bedding/deep litter system can be a great way to provide a comfortable winter environment for cattle. It provides animals with a warm, soft bed, saves pen maintenance labor, and provides a jump start to manure composting as part of a farm's fertility program. We have been building our cattle's deep bedding pack for three months ...What have our experiences been so far?
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Hi everyone. One thing I forgot to mention in the video is the use of pigs to root through the bedding to turn and aerate it after the cattle have left for pasture in the spring. This is a practice popularized by Joel Salatin. Joel uses wood chips as his carbon source in the bedding pack, and sprinkles kernel corn in the pack as it is built. The corn ferments in the pack, and when pigs are released onto the pack, they root in search of the fermented, sweet corn kernels. In the early years of our farm, we tried this practice with our hay-based bedding packs. Unfortunately, the hay pack was compacted too much for the pigs to root in it too deeply and this method did not work. This gets back to the problems with having a pack that is too dense for optimal aerobic fermentation. We have found that when we remove the pack in the spring and it is piled outside for further composting, this turns, loosens, and aerates the pack enough to get aerobic composting started.
Actually this method was popularized by Edible Acres who does it with chicken 🍗
@@barebones5884 Ok, I disagree, but it's not really an important point. Joel's been doing it for much longer. Chickens are really poor at working tight material loose on a large scale. EA has a really small setup usually consisting of household waste and tree litter.
Thank-you!
@@barebones5884 In his earlier videos about it, Sean actually credits Joel Salatin with the idea.
Is there a good source for woodchips nearby? Must be cheaper and more available than hay? Though if you have hay that isn't suitable for consumption, then why not. Good luck! I use deep bedding for my chickens and makes awesome compost for the garden.
The part about beneficial bacteria reminded me of a video I saw several years ago about a woman that was making yogurt with raw milk to sell. She was using wood buckets for the process and never had any issues with anyone getting sick. The FDA swooped in and said she had to use stainless steel containers and that they had to be sterilized before each use. She then started having issues with the yogurt spoiling early and a few of her customers started to get sick from eating it. She got a hold of some experts and a legal team and they found that the use of wooden buckets allowed an environment for good bacteria to thrive which killed off the bad bacteria. She ended up wining a legal battle and was able to go back to using wooden buckets. It just goes to show that sometimes you just need to let nature do it's thing and not intervene.
Nothing like sterilization and anti-biotics to bring out the real dangerous stuff. If you kill all the other stuff, what's left is the stuff that you can't kill.
Similar to a study I saw years ago about cutting boards. Man-made material boards were compared to wood cutting boards and the wood boards were found to be far more sanitary.
I am 70+ years old and grew up on a mixed farm that included both dairy , registered Black Angus and terminal breed feeders . In that cold winter environment bedding pack was a key component of stock health. We grew cereal crops for both feed and barley for the malting . We bailed the straw , my Father used to say we were borrowing it from the soil as it got returned as manure. I remember morning feeding in -30 weather as the cattle got up from their spot it their sheds the beds would be steaming , we bedded by hand and you soon learn. Your feet are going to be toasty warm. Thanks for bringing this to everyone!
Thank-you!
Me too southern Mich. in the early 50's
You got to do what you got to do for your animals and 😮😊you and what's good for your farm
@@lorrainestafford3809Very true you do the best Job that you can and what you can afford 😊
Good morning ...we used deep bedding for our dairy heifers ...and now my husband and I use this method in our chicken coop during the winter.
Interesting. I was curious how this would work with chickens and sheep. Seems at least it works with chickens.
I have been watching you for a few years. The education you give is very valuable and there should be a course taught in school and college on farming and how to become a farmer and the benefit of the small farm for a community. Small farms can sustain a community economically, food source for local markets and all around just good for the surrounding communities in which the farm is operating. We would depend less on foreign food or genetically modified and process foods if we look to our local farmers the way it used to be. I for one wouldn't mind paying more for better food and support my local farmers and community. It's a win win situation if we would do it
Better yet. It would be nice to see your local FFA have kids volunteer to come and learn from someone like you.
Yes!
Yes! High schools and colleges are too focused on a lot of nonsense and not enough on practical real world self sufficiency!
He is creating a library right in front of us. Loving this.
Its so cool how kind the cows are when you ask them to leave. So polite!
That is because he is kind to them , he interacts with them so they are not afraid of him , unlike other famers who have way too many cows to be friendly to them all . And Pete has basically hand raised all his cows, and his bulls. They are tame compared to the huge farms.
Probably how most cattle husbandry operations were until large corporate farms. Or before huge grasslands were met. @@snarky4lyfe144
COME ON COWS! COME ON COWS!
The barn extention is a real game changer. Nice upgrade. Good investment.
Great video Pete . Very informative. I’m 66 years old and I learn something every time I watch your videos . Thank you so much . God Bless .
Thank you so much Pete for showing us how God made the world to take care of His creatures - both us and our animals. Science is simply to study what He did so we know how to work with it to be kind to them and feed ourselves. Thanks again for all you do and your cheerful kindly presentation of information, a rarity on (anti) social media. God bless you and your family and Just a Few Acres.
Pete, one thing we have experienced is that with the deep pack the preasure on the post increases, we have snapped a few of older post off, we have since added stub post along the outside walls…love the videos, thanks so much!
Your cattle are living their best life Pete!
I appreciated how you showed the layering to the bedding pack and how that affects composting success. I like all your videos, but this one was especially interesting.
I grew up on a grain and livestock farm in central Illinois, where we fead about 70 to 80 head of beef cattle on dry lot every year . Never heard of "Deep Pack " bedding, but that is exactly the method we used, The feedlot was all concrete and we used oat straw bedding almost daily this was supplemented with corn cobs when they were available and was needed. The feedlot was cleaned out once a year ,and by then it could be up to 30 inches deep. Great fertilizer,
Pete: I watched this episode and it validated something for me. When I was growing up on our dairy farm, the cow barn was cleaned out in the spring. This was the standard practice as cleaning the barn during the winter was infeasible. As the winter went on and more bedding was added, the level of manure grew to a depth of 3 to 4 feet some years. It was difficult to spread the bedding when the manure was this thick as one had to stoop over due to lack of clearance. It was the practice in those days and your video has validated the work. I feel good that we did the right thing! Thanks
Just found you last month & have been watching all the videos with a thumbs up. Like them all I’m 75 & too old to start farming but I like learning I also like the rebuilding tractors which I’ll never do but I am restoring a 66 Chevy pickup, by watching you can pick up tips to use elsewhere thanks I enjoy very much all of them
I think their bedding is more supportive than my fancy dancy mattress! Thanks for the episode, Pete!
Corn stock shredding was also a method that was use to give pigs a warm place to root in during the winter months.
There’s another channel called Sonne Farms on UA-cam. They are farmers and beef producers in South Dakota and they still use shredded corn stalks for bedding their cattle at times. Good folks with a great family friendly channel.
An excellent explanation of the deep bedding pack system. When I was farming we used the system all the time with straw as the brown product. We had one shed with 100 cattle in it and a long feed face where silage was fed. The bedding pack at the end of the winter was about 8 (eight) feet tall and very cosy / warm. The cattle would be in from October to April and we never mucked them out until they’d all gone. The feed barriers were very similar to yours and we would raise them about once a month from December time. The gap underneath was filled in using old wooden railway sleepers and a loader tractor. The water trough was on a block plinth (made of wooden railway sleepers) and was also raised using railway sleepers laid on top of the plinth. The base floor was concrete which made mechanical cleaning out very simple. We would sometimes get poor quality silage and this was put onto the bedding pack.
I would recommend aiming for a deeper bedding pack and particularly from mid winter onwards. Using a tractor loader to raise the barriers is a practical proposition if the system is set up at the beginning of the in wintering period. We used old wooden railway sleepers and lot of them there must be similar products available where you are. The advantage of wood is that you can cut them to the size you want fairly easily with mechanical saws etc.. A small lorry load of second hand sleepers would be more than enough for a barn 20x 40 feet.
Railway sleepers are impregnated with highly toxic chemicals to keep them from rotting. The water throug made from them sends shivers up my spine.
As for cutting, they make a chainsaw chain dull real fast, because of on the sand on their surface. My dad got a load of them in the 80's when we first got a woodburning boiler.
Fair comment about railway sleepers particularly about the products used to preserve them which is why they make good items for muck retention. We were using them in the 1970’s when eco considerations weren’t so prevalent. They were almost indestructible but that said they all eventually ended up as scrap. Re cutting them you are correct we tried chain saws but in the end we only used old chains on clean sleepers. Dirty sleepers we used concrete cutters. Today I think only concrete railway sleepers are available in the UK and these may be an alternative source. Old metal motorway barriers could also be an alternative and these could be cut.
Come on Dad...can we come in now??? We're hungry and little tired and please stop stepping on our bed! Good video - very informative, have a great week and we'll see you again soon!!!
The best part of the video for me was the glimpse we had of the cattle FROLICKING in the new added hay!
Love how your videos are educational for everyone that doesn't understand how things work on old school farm. We clean our barn out twice a year. Spring and fall, before crops and after crops. Nice that it gives off heat in the winter to help keep the barn a little warmer. Thanks Pete
I found your channel a few days ago and I love it! I grew up on a small dairy farm in NW washington state. The farm has been sold and my dad passed away after working the farm for 60 years. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year and had brain surgery and radiation that left me with cognitive deficits so I can't work anymore. I often have anxiety as a side effect. Watching you farm brings me so much peace. Takes me back to my childhood and to better days. Thank you!
Thank YOU Pete! As a person who grew up from age 15 to 21 on'The Farm' I am appreciative of what You and family do... I do miss it...GOD, bless
I love this method, what a wonderful compost that's going to be. Really saves on your labor and your equipment. Love to see your cows when you add their new fresh layer. They act like it's the best thing in the world and for them it's great for them. Blessings
Yes, well composted manure is the best thing that The Creator, God makes!
@@johncourtneidge love it!
Great explanation of the Bedding process. I noticed Orden and his Nemesis were the first two back inside!. Orrden was peeking in the gate/door while you were explaining things. thanks for sharing. ECF
Thank Pete for educating us I get more from your explain to us all the details as far as how to upkeep the animals how to maintain farm equipment and all of your resources that you need to have a running farm.
Thank-you! I did the same with winter-housed sheep, but on straw on a concrete floor, back in the day.
Another benefit is that the composting pile isn't being leached by rain.
I love this show 🐄🚜 your method of explaining things in an easy to understand way is super helpful. Thanks Pete 🙏🏽💗🌱
Great idea. Don´t forget Pete, it´s winter. A very mild one, but far from summer warm for decomposition. Also difference betwen your outside manure pile and in the barn is concrete slab. Outside it´s probably full of earth worm not counting bacteria that came from the soil. Next time try with few buckets of soil, preferably with a good worm population.
I do some growing inside in the winter. I had plenty of bad apples and pears well rotten. Put them in the soil (anaeroby in my pot with
"Brand new" bags of gardening soil with mycorhizes. Now i have a mushroom growing. In cooler solarium i can see that white stuff rootings good. Pretty cool to see my brocolis removed from the field under snow in late fall and seeing them now blossoming. I got 2 of these pesky butterflies that hatched. I won´t cultivate them outside in summer. They´ll stay in buckets for winter growth. They love that colder temperature
I´m on north shore of St Lawrence river.
This is like the Ritz for cattle! ❤My dad always bedded his cattle, no roof but bedded. I see places around that the cattle get hay outside & no bedding. Not a good deal😮
We used this method every year here in the UK. Worked really well. Great video. All the best 🇬🇧.
You guys are awesome
Growing by leaps and bounds😂😂😂
Wonderful how well the barn edition is working for you all😎
Another great video
I love ALL you videos. The one you did 2 years ago, when you were sitting in the field trying to get Rusty to come to you. That was so relaxing to watch. I have seen tour videos so much, I know all your jokes.
❤for these wonderful weekend videos.
Who would have know that cow pooh could be so interesting and important on a farm. The knowledge that a farmed has is unbelievable, where would be without Farmers............ btim SWPa.
All great info Pete, thanks
Love your channel Pete. Thank you. 👍
Great stuff Pete! Blessings!
Educational, thank you
I notice you don't separate all the hay when you bed it, but lay it out like a blanket. What if you made sure all the hay is perfectly loose and not in a blanket, and then bed about half a bale, but do it twice a week? We used to make sure our straw was loose and airy, and then we bedded every evening. I enjoy watching (and listening) to you. Keep it up.
So you do know Celsius conversions, lol 😅 keep up the awesome videos.
Agreed it made a serious video funny
Thank you for all this information, I wondered how you could stand the smell the manure and now I know that it isn't a bad smell. I learn from you every day!!
Yes. Another thing I learned from Joel Salatin is that if a farm smells, then something is wrong with their manure management. Smell is a sign that nutrients are leaking off the farm.
@@JustaFewAcresFarm I must have a lot of nutrients leaking off my body
Thank you for the video
Thanks Pete!
Great information. Thanks Pete. 👍
Thanks for sharing
Speaking for our 400 cow organic farm...we use deep bedding packs for all our heifers. They come off pasture oct-nov, we clean them in Jan. By then our big heifer shed is 4ft deep. That's 100 head getting 10-12 3x3 bales a week. It takes a lot of carbon to get the right ratio, also having proper draining.
Thanks for the great explanation and another great video!
Very interesting. Thanks
Best "dad joke" yet, delivery, timing and subject....just perfect!
It looks like Orden and Titus are getting along better.
What a system!
Great job, I have a lot more naps, much needed
As always....a GREAT video!
Excellent work!
Great video.
Sounds like the cows love it!!
Informative
Thank you 😊
Very interesting..thanks!
That was really interesting😊😊
Prayers 🙏🙏 Praying
Thanks Pete for a very interesting video.
Have a good day 😊
Interesting video Pete.👍👍
we do the same and love it.. great info thanks again
Nice tutorial, thks
Yep brings back memory's
great information
Very Interesting video thanks Pete.
Really good info. and presentation. Thanks!
Very educational and very interesting. Thanks, Pete!
Amazing!
Very interesting, thanks for sharing!
Good day to all, peace .
Your explanation is so very well done. Thank you.
We started raising goats this last summer and decided this was the method we wanted to use for winter. It's worked out extremely well! I sit on the floor to milk, and it's surprisingly toasty! So we decided to try it for the bird coop and it's worked out very well in there also. We use a mix of cut grass and pine shavings for the goats, and pine shavings for the birds.
THANK YOU
Great channel !!!!
Very informative,thanks Pete peace brother…
We always do this in our dairy maternity pens. If a cow comes down with milk fever it's easier for her to get footing to stand up again. When we do clean it out we only do half a pen at a time. Been doing this all of my life.
Thanks Pete
Good lit review! Good discussion of your application! Thanks!
Loved this one! Love when they frolic with the new bedding. Yeah!!
Thanks for the information about your working practices Pete. 🙂👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
First video I’ve seen you post on Saturday
Absolutely, still love how informative your videos are. As always, thank you for sharing your videos.
Hi Pete that was a great educational video , I loved it ty for your hard work ❤
Pete really enjoy what y'all do we your channel
Excellent informative video. Thank you Pete,.
thank you
Awesome video Pete thank you! I love the system of deep bedding. In the older days sometime the floor was under a slope (at least in the Netherlands we did), to let the urine drain to one side and not to make the bedding pack to wet.
Pete, thanks for show and tell about getting the right hay for the cow's bed.. My grandpa used the same method..
Very interesting video:) I like the information you provide with your topics you cover:)
Another great informative video Pete. As always enjoyed it!!!!!
Excellent explanation. Thanks for your time, talent and thoughts.
Great video we r using this pack system this year helps us to make sure we r doing it right thanks Pete
Amazing video Pete. Really love your forethought into the science of farming!