After phenomenal success in the Pig
industry Ecoshelters® are now bringing home the bacon for calf
rearers & stand off sheds for dairy Herds. Growers across Australia
are enjoying the benefits of healthy animals and are able to join
the calf rearing industry at lower entry costs than traditional shedding.
With its distinctive
shape, Ecoshelters® have set a standard for straw-based housing
for grower pigs across New Zealand & Australia with more than
1000 structures now in place, similar results are now being seen
in the calf industry.
Ecoshelters®
are steel-framed buildings clad in Flexible UV stabilised sheeting
or optional double-sided black-white LMUV4 woven polyfabrics. The
buildings are designed to ‘breath’ and provide excellent
shelter while maximising ventilation and minimising condensation
and humidity. They incorporate a screen vent above the eave line
at both ends permitting full-time air flow, and have roll up-roll
down blinds on both sides and ends. With optimum ventilation there
is also less likelihood of disease. Optional fixed or adjustable
awnings are available.
While meeting
all relevant structural compliance ratings, Redpath claim that Ecoshelters®
are quick and easy to erect –they are delivered to farm in
kit form for a fully-bolted construction. A patented Lockstrip clipping
system for the cladding, galvanised fasteners, connectors and brackets,
and chlorinated rubber coated Supergal steel components are used
to maximise the structure’s working life in what can be very
aggressive conditions.
They are therefore
ideal low-cost entry level buildings for the intensive animal industries,
and quick-build extensions to existing enterprises.
The Ecoshelter
design project began in the early 1990s with the concept becoming
public in 1994. The success of Ecoshelters® was such that the
Western Australia Department of Agriculture conducted further research
and achieved excellent results when compared to traditional housing.
Now with professional
calf rearers recognising the need for housing that will provide
an environment that is conducive to raising quality healthy calves,
reducing mortality rates, vetinerary costs and maximising feed costs,
the Ecoshelter® has certainly cemented its place in the New
Zealand farming community.
