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Poor hygiene in calf housing can have a serious impact on the health and performance of calves as youngstock, and when they enter the adult herd.

Setting up sheds to allow for efficient and effective cleaning, and maximising protocols between batches – and on a daily basis – is key.

See also: 5 essential ingredients for good calf housing

“It is important to remember that calves are babies and need to be treated as such,” says David Ball, environment and buildings senior manager at AHDB.

“They are born with very limited ability to fend off diseases, infections and pathogens, due to poorly developed immune systems, and so they need to be looked after well to protect this.

“Having sufficient discipline to clean pens out on a routine basis is vital.”

Below, Mr Ball gives his advice on areas to target and best practice for keeping calf sheds clean.

While not everyone can start from scratch with calf housing, there are a few fundamental principles to get right that allow for effective cleaning.

Building capacity – Farmers need to be able to provide sufficient space for the number of calves they are planning to rear.

This is largely so there is no overcrowding, but also so pens can be  effectively cleaned out between batches.

Pens must be left clean, disinfected and empty to dry for two to three weeks before another batch of calves come in.

Infectious diseases like warmth and moisture. Without them, the life cycle is much reduced and so is the likelihood of calf infection.

A good example of this is cryptosporidiosis, one of the most problematic health challenges in calf sheds (see below).

Infection is spread in egg-contaminated food, water and bedding, and often occurs because of poor cleaning between batches.

Access – If space allows, it is a good idea to design housing so that pens can be cleaned out individually.

This is more effective than a design where access to the building with cleaning equipment is from one end, and all pens have to be cleaned out at the same time.

This is particularly important for all-year-round calving herds, where there is a constant supply of calves coming into the system.

The materials used for floors, walls and hard surfaces have to be clean and cleanable.

To allow for effective cleaning, surfaces must be able to withstand a pressure washer and application of a disinfectant.

As such, all surfaces should be sealed. For example, an ordinary concrete block wall is not going to be suitable.

It should at least be rendered or coated with some sort of stock board or plastic material that can be easily cleaned.

Pay special attention to any cracks and crevices which could harbour pathogens.

Sufficient drainage is also important to consider.

Hard surfaces/concrete floors need a minimum 5% slope under bedded areas, and 2% in scraped areas, to ensure liquid matter is drained effectively from the pen.

It is also vital to ensure slopes lead to a drain which takes liquid away from the building to minimise the risk of infection.

Teat feeders, tubes, bottles, buckets and water sources all present opportunities to trap bacteria in hard-to-reach places, which could then cause disease or infection in calves.

Cleaning should be thorough on a daily basis and between batches.

Cleaning of equipment should ideally be done in a separate area to the housing to avoid any cross-contamination.

This is because a lot of moisture is created during cleaning, increasing the relative humidity in the area, and this must be controlled within the calf accommodation to prevent other health challenges.

Having a separate designated cleaning area will help limit this.

Access to clean, fresh feed and water in clean troughs is also vital for calf development.

Mechanical ventilation systems draw fresh air from outside the building, so the risk of contaminated air should be low.

However, issues can arise where there is a build-up of dust, clogging up airways, which could reduce the effectiveness of the system.

Regular cleaning and maintenance of ventilation systems will prevent this.

Calf jackets are useful aids in calf rearing, but they must be washed thoroughly between calves.

Jackets should be machine-washed at 60C and disinfected using a product recognised to kill cryptosporidiosis.

See also: Calf coats on test: Which works best for you?

This parasitic disease is caused by cryptosporidium infection and is one of the most common reasons for calf scour.

Large numbers of eggs are shed in the faeces of infected calves which then spread to other animals via infected bedding, water or feed.

Infected calves shed up to one million eggs in every gram of faeces. Only a very small proportion of these contaminated eggs are required to cause further onward disease.

Scour, dehydration, reduced feed intake.

Keep the calving area and calf housing clean and use a suitable disinfectant. Hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectants are most effective.

Avoid mixing older and younger calves. Separate sick animals immediately and avoid sharing feeding and drinking equipment.

For treatment, calves should be dosed within 24 hours of a diagnosis.

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