VentTube Cool helps to boost cattle health and transform housed environments

Ensuring an optimal housed environment is created and maintained is key for cattle health and performance. This is the main reason Chris Andrews has invested in a VentTube Cool system.

Based north of Cheltenham, Chris buys in dairy-beef youngstock to finish, housing animals all-year-round. Read on to hear his experience of using VentTube Cool.

Stock is taken from 170kg through to 580-600kg liveweight, with heifers sold at 14 months.

Cattle health and performance

Adequate ventilation in cattle sheds is key to improving livestock health and productivity. It helps to reduce disease risk as well as ensuring a comfortable environment where animals can thrive.

Chris has used several different ventilation strategies in the past but faced reoccurring problems with older stock and heat stress. The impact this had on cattle performance, and specifically liveweight gain, ultimately started to affect the farm’s profitability.

“We found that cattle were more susceptible to heat stress the
larger they were, so we installed a VentTube cooling system in the shed where the cattle closest to being sold are housed.”

Chris made the decision to invest in VentTube Cool, to help optimise his herd ‘s health and help to eliminate the risk of heat stress.

Impact of good ventilation

Chris highlights the importance of how each system is designed to the specifics of the building and age of housed livestock. It distributes clean, cool air over large areas maintaining optimal temperatures to help increase animal comfort and productivity.

“We have been running the VentTube Cool since it was
fitted eight months ago, and the results have been remarkable.”

Since installing VentTube Cool in February 2022, Chris has found the air quality instantly improve, when walking in the sheds the air feels a lot fresher, cleaner, and cooler.

He shares that it’s great to have a system in place that you can also winch up and down when mucking out.

“The system is positioned at a height where it has more of an
effect of drying the bedding out too, allowing us to
save on input costs.”

Good ventilation can help keep the straw bedding dry and prevent condensation, resulting in on-farm input cost savings. Chris is saving roughly £20-£25 a day on straw bedding, with his system helping to dry the bedding meaning he doesn’t have to rebed so often.
Chris recommends ensuring you have the right ventilation system for your shed type and livestock. Every farm is different so it’s vital that you work with a professional to help determine this.