Concrete versus rubber covered slats
Concern for the welfare of finishing cattle, particularly in relation to housing conditions (floor type & space allocation), has been expressed at national and EU level. Teagasc Grange Researchers give insight into their research into Concrete versus rubber covered slats. Find out more at Beef 2022
Teagasc Grange Researchers Cathy McGettigan, Mark McGee, Edward O’Riordan and Bernadette Earley discuss their findings here.
Our key objectives are to examine the impact of housing conditions on the performance and welfare of beef cattle.
Finishing Cattle
Under the conditions of our experiments, finishing steers accommodated on rubber mats had enhanced growth and feed efficiency, exhibited lying behaviour indicative of improved comfort, and body cleanliness was reduced at slaughter, compared to steers on concrete slats.
Weanlings
However, growth, feed efficiency, cleanliness scores and hoof health of weanling cattle was not affected by the addition of rubber matting to concrete slats.
Ask your questions and get the answers on this research at Teagasc Grange, by coming along to our Beef 2022 Open day on Tuesday July 5th.
BEEF2022 Open Day
Come along to Beef2022 where you will meet Teagasc research, advisory and education staff in person.
BEEF2022 on Tuesday 5th July in Teagasc Grange is a free event and is a day not to be missed!
Further information www.teagasc.ie/beef2022
This article was first published in Today's Farm - May/June 2022 where you can read more articles like this one.