Beef Production:  The Basics

Addendum B 

Calf Housing

1. Pen space

	Age	Minimum space required per calf
Individual pens	up to 4 weeks from 4 to 8 weeks	1.5 x 0.75 m 1.8 x 1.0 m
Indoor standing crates	up to 8 weeks	1.4 x 0.6 m
Group pens	up to 8 weeks from 8 to 12 weeks	1.1 m2 1.5 m2

2. Housing alternatives

Individual pens	Tethered to stake outdoors Outdoor hutches Outdoor umbrella shelter Indoor calf pens Indoor crates
Groups	Indoor pens
Surrogate cow

Where calves are tethered to a stake, tethered under an umbrella or housed in outdoor hutches, placing the calf at the lower end of a slope and then moving them at regular intervals up the slope, reduces the incidence of intestinal parasites.

Figure 19.  System for tethering calf to a post.

Figure 20.  Umbrella shelter for calf rearing, constructed from thatch or other light-weight suitable material.

Figure 21.  Calf tethered to post in front of calf hutch.

Figure 22.  Calf hutches