RWN Cubicle Bedding Powders
Cow comfort, cow health
and good hygiene are essential for efficient and profitable milk production in high yielding dairy herds.
Richard Webster Nutrition works with three highly effective tried and tested antiseptic cubicle bedding
powders Vulkamin, Hydramix and RWN Cubi-Powder.
All are suitable for use in cow cubicle housing, straw yards, dry cow housing and calf rearing accommodation. All three products have different modes of action and all are highly effective and competitively priced, non-caustic, safe, based on natural ingredients and are pleasant to handle.
Hygiene is Important for Cow Health, Performance and Profitability
Vulkamin
Vulkamin long used on the Continent over many years is now rapidly becoming established as a preferred cubicle bedding powder in the UK. In both cubicles and loose housing systems the beneficial properties of Vulkamin are quickly noticed. Vulkamin consists of finely powdered soft volcanic rock. Vulkamin is naturally rich in nutrients, trace elements and soluble silicic acids and its mineralogical peculiarity gives it natural antiseptic qualities required to help prevent mastitis.
Overall Vulkamin is more cost effective than lime or other bedding powders and is available in 1 tonne bags for ease of use
How Vulkamin works
The
disinfectant effect of Vulkamin is due to a rapid rise in pH when Vulkamin comes into contact with moisture.
Microbes cannot tolerate fast changes in pH and most of them will die off. This is the case with Streptococcus
and other environmental mastitis causing bacteria. A pH rise of 2 points on the cubicle bed means that
the acidity is reduced by 100x in less than 10 minutes. Other pathogenic bacteria which may be present
in the cubicles will also be prohibited in multiplying.
Properties of Vulkamin
- Fast drying capacity
- Disinfectant to reduce pathogenic bacteria and infection
- Vulkamin improves and maintains the hygiene of the cubicles
- Kill time less than 15 minutes
- The pH rises by 2 points in 10 minutes
- Soft textured powder is non-abrasive for the teats and legs
- Very fine powder - a little goes a long way
- None Caustic - animal and farmer friendly
- Pleasant and safe to handle – doesn't damage skin
- Good on mats, mattresses or on straw
- Can be used in conjunction with sawdust or to replace sawdust or lime
- Usage on mattresses as little as 50g – 100g costing 2p – 4p /cow/day or £4 - £8 /cow/winter
- Can be cheaper than sawdust
- Unlike sawdust Vulkamin effectively controls bacteria
- Reduces the loss of nitrogen
- Reduction of flies
- Effective and cost effective
Vulkamin as a soil improver?
An extended benefit of using Vulkamin in animal housing is it’s naturally rich source of nutrients, trace elements and soluble silicic acids and zeolites. These components feed the soil when the slurry is spread.
Vulkamin has
been widely used on the continent as one of the most effective and healthy preparations for soil improvement.
Application of Vulkamin to pasture at 200kg per acre can help provide the minerals, trace elements and
other nutrients to keep the soil in a healthy productive condition.
Use of Vulkamin as a bedding powder allows these nutrients to be applied as part of normal slurry application throughout the year. Vulkamin contains well over £90 worth of mineral and trace nutrients per tonne.
Vulkamin can reduce fertiliser costs
The most commonly used bedding powder in the UK is hydrated lime which contains calcium hydroxide. This has a very high pH and reacts with ammonium salts in the cattle slurry converting nitrogen to ammonia gas which is easily volatilised to the atmosphere and lost. 1 tonne of hydrated lime can release nitrogen up to the equivalent of 800kg of ammonium nitrogen fertiliser.
Vulkamin does not cause a direct loss of large amounts of organic nitrogen from the cattle slurry. This means the farmer will not need to buy additional nitrogen fertiliser to make up the nitrogen losses.
Taking nitrogen losses into consideration cubicle lime is more expensive than we think compared with Vulkamin or with cubicle powders with a neutral pH.
Vulkamin is not a "fertiliser" in the traditional sense but a real agent to improve soils. It is effective even in small quantities. Silicic acid is directly absorbable by plants and strengthens their resistance to disease. Silicilic acid also releases locked up phosphates and other nutrients in the soil. Zeolites have the capacity to store nutrients and release them later improving conditions for soil microbes, especially for nitrogen-binding bacteria. They also act as catalysts accelerating natural processes and reactions within soil.
Vulkamin
Application: Spread a thin layer of Vulkamin where the cows
lay especially the area which comes into contact with the udders and on moist and damp areas. In
calving boxes Vulkamin should be spread all over the floor. Vulkamin is very effective in controlling
bacterial growth in sawdust, straw and other absorbent bedding materials.
A daily application ensures optimal cubicle hygiene contributing to a prevention of cross contamination and mastitis.
Which RWN Cubicle Bedding Powder should I use?
Vulkamin, Hydramix, Ultra-Dri and
RWN Cubi-Powder are all extremely effective means of both improving hygiene and controlling bacteria
in dairy cow and calf housing and of keeping cows clean.
RWN Cubi-Powder Ultra-Dri and Hydramix are available in 25kg bags. Vulkamin is available in 1 tonne tote bags. All are available minimum 1 tonne drops throughout the UK.
Taking account of comparative usage rates all three products are cost effective as well as being pleasant to handle, non-abrasive, non-caustic, safe to use and won't damage the cows skin.
Natural Disinfectant Cubicle Bedding Powders
We offer a wide range of livestock bedding: RWN Cattle Bedding Products
For advice and to discuss the best bedding option for your cows contact Richard Webster
BETTER HYGIENE, HEALTHIER COWS, MORE MILK, LESS CULLING, MORE PROFIT
Cheaper and more effective solution to hygiene in cubicle housing