End of Project ReportFrom a series of experiments at Grange Research Centre, cattle were cleanest at housing in the autumn,
however, within 3 to 4 weeks of housing on concrete slats and fed with a diet of grass silage, cattle
were dirtiest, with the majority of the cattle in category 4 or 5.
Cattle tended to be cleaner in the late March, early April period as they shed their winter hair coat.
Cattle fed concentrates plus straw were significantly cleaner at slaughter compared to similar cattle
offered grass silage plus concentrates.
Cattle housed indoor on slats during the summer were cleaner than cattle on similar diet and
accommodation during the winter.
High dry matter silage produced cleaner cattle than did low dry matter silages.
Back and tail clipping of cattle at the commencement of the winter finishing period did not have any
positive effect on cleanliness score or liveweight gain when the cattle were accommodated in well
ventilated slatted floor houses.
A survey of 19 farms specialising in finishing cattle failed to show any correlation between stocking
density, solid floor area or level of concentrate feeding on the cleanliness of finishing cattle.
A survey of 36 finishing units, designated as producers of "clean" or "dirty" cattle at slaughter, found
that units with clean cattle had houses which were in general well ventilated, had A-type roofs with an
open ridge outlet and in general the grass silage offered was a higher dry matter. In contrast, finishing
units with dirty cattle tended to be poorly ventilated and the grass silage offered had a lower dry
matter.
Overall in the survey cattle cleanliness score was not affected by stocking density (2.0m 2 3.8m 2) or
the proportion of solid floor area in the pen.
Cattle accommodated on gang slats were dirtier than those accommodated on single slats