The summer months provide a good opportunity for farmers to clean cattle sheds and make repairs to livestock sheds in advance of the winter housing period.
Often these jobs can be put off during the summer months but leaving sheds ready for winter now will take the pressure off farmers later on in the year when winter housing approaches.
Now is a good time to wash any disinfect sheds and fix any drinkers, feed barriers or cubicles which may need repairing.
If repairing roof sheeting, making alterations to side sheeting on sheds for ventilation or doing any unusual jobs which may require working at heights, it is important to have the necessary safety equipment or seek the assistance of a professional as most farmers will be well aware of the dangers of working at heights.
It is always advisable to give sheds a thorough cleaning ahead of winter and the Animal Health Ireland (AHI) July bulletin offered farmers advice on the recommended cleaning and disinfection procedure for sheds.
Once all dried faeces and other dirt is removed from walls, floors, crevices and rails of the pens by power washing, a disinfectant can then be applied.
The presence of dirt will prevent the disinfectant from working properly and pathogens such as the ones that cause cryptosporidiosis can survive dehydration when in dried faeces.
Any faeces remaining in the shed from the previous year’s calves need to be removed.
According to AHI, it is recommended to use a disinfectant from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) approved disinfectant list for cattle sheds.
Where there is a history of cryptosporidiosis on the farm, particular disinfectants need to be used.
AHI advises the use of amine-based, p-chloro-m-cresol, hydrogen peroxide with peracetic acid or 3% hydrogen peroxide in these cases.
All surfaces should be thoroughly coated with an effective disinfectant and the contact time for disinfectants is “extremely important”.
For many of the commercial disinfectants to work against C. parvum, they need two hours of contact time when applied to a clean surface with no organic matter.
The labeling on the product being used will provide details on the recommended contact time.
Once the disinfectant has been applied, the shed should be rinsed and then allowed to dry.
Once dry, pens should be left empty of livestock “for at least three to four months”, according to AHI.
This is particularly relevant when farmers are trying to control and prevent cryptosporidiosis as the lack of moisture is important in inactivating C. parvum oocysts.
Taking action on getting sheds winter ready now will leave one less job for farmers to complete in the run up to winter and the long evening provide the perfect opportunity to complete these tasks.