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Northeast Iowa | Figured I would start a new post to answer your questions from earlier post. I'll give a lil history to start.
Pack dimensions are roughly 38 x 140. Currently with my 35 Holsteins they have around 150 sq/ft per cow. Most recommendations are for 100 so we've got some extra room. The shed was built in 98 by my dad with design help from extension service. I'd honestly like to kick em all in the rear somedays. It was originally designed with a 10 foot wide L shaped feed bunk that didn't extend thru entire shed. Also has an 8 foot wide scrape alley that doesn't extend entire length and no waterers inside. Original plan was a compost pack as they were the big new thing and cows were fed large squares of alfalfa stacked in feed alley with grain in stall barn.
Could never get the compost to work right so dad switched to deep bedded pack which was better. We didn't have a processor so my brothers and I would bed straw with pitchforks after my dad shook them out with skid steer. Most cows I remember in shed were around 90 and it took 3 5x6 rounds a day just to keep them resembling clean. Cow numbers decreased and eventually herd was dispersed when I was in high school.
I moved onto farm and began milking 9 years ago. Cow numbers have stayed around 30-40 due to limitations with stall barn. Originally I fed dry alfalfa hay and bedded pack by hand the same way we had done growing up while saving money to make improvements. 4 years ago I installed the drive thru feeding, switched to baleage, and purchased processor. It all has really made chores easier.
I graze my cows during summer so pack is only used in winter. Primarily bed with straw from our family's farm operation but also use cornstalks. Depending on weather I use 2 or 4 4x5 round bales of straw a day. Might seem like alot and I could probably get by with less but I've found to secret to success on a deep pack is to keep cows clean and dry. We do this with lots of bedding and scraping
the manure alley twice a day. Currently scc is 120,000. I will have spikes now and then with changes in weather but it stays pretty steady. Cow comfort is biggest plus as I have only had to call vet for 1 lame cow problem in the past nine years. When grazing starts the shed is empty and we usually haul it out in late summer. Pack has 5 foot sidewalls so we only haul out once a year.
I guess I probly rambled but I hope it answers your questions and feel free to ask more. I always enjoy listening and seeing pics of other operations. Stock talk and agtalk in general is a great help so I hope I can be to. Thanks and here's a few pics.
Pic 1 is pack tonight before fresh bedded
Pic 2 is after, put cornstalks down since it was nice and dry today.
Pic 3 is processor with stalk bales
Pic 4 is feed lane after processing baleage
Pic 5 is why I use so much bedding, clean cows!
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Cldairy: bedded pack info and more pics
