Livestock housing Cubicles, Barriers, Drinkers & More

O’Donovan Engineering specialises in the design and manufacture of quality, innovative livestock housing and handling equipment.

Our experienced sales and engineering teams will work directly with you; designing and fitting the optimum layout in your new or existing farm building. It is important to keep in mind the livestock housing options available to you. We look at each yard individually and design a solution for you!

Cubicles

We have two types of dairy cow cubicles, the standard super loop cubicle pictured below and the Rubicle which is a rubber wrapped cubicle for added comfort. Our cubicles are manufactured here in Cork out of 3.65mm galvanised pipe. The German manufactured pipe is what give our cubicle its longevity. It is a more expensive raw material, but the quality is unmatched. We have tested galvanised pipe from all over the world and found cubicles made from cheaper or lighter pipe results in hairline cracks and flaking when put through the manufacturing process and the lifetime value and quality just does not compare to the European made pipe.

Video of our cubicles being made

Mat/Mattress

Huber is a Comfortable and durable continuous roll of mat. We have been selling Huber Technik comfort roll mat and mattress for over 20 years in the Irish market. Huber are a German based company in Erding, Bavaria. All mats are DLG and PAH tested. What does that mean?

DLG – A quality mark “DLG-APPROVED for single value-determining criteria” is awarded to agricultural products which have successfully passed a DLG usability test according to independent and recognized evaluation criteria.

PAH – Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a group of over 100 different chemicals. PAH’s are known for their carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic properties.

Huber is one of the only mats on the market that is PAH tested and certified to contain none of these chemicals.

Vet & Cow Comfort Researcher Nele Schermeier

Nele is involved in large farm projects all over the world Russia, Italy, England, Germany and Turkey. “No matter what climatic situation or what kind of system the farms are using, it always comes down to: What is the best for our cows?”

In her opinion Consistency is key! – “Only high-quality rubber mat/mattresses keep their quality features over a long period of time.”

A consistent high-quality rubber mattress gives a cow the convenience she needs to feel save under foot to reduce stress. Slippery and uneven ground is a stressor to the dairy cow. Elevated stress hormone levels can have a negative effect on milk yield, reproductivity and even affect her unborn offspring.

A testimony to the quality of Huber mat and mattress is the fact there has been 0% warranty claims over the last 30 years. Huber comes with a 10-year regressive warranty. It is also 100% new tyre compound, the only mat on the market that is made in this way. This means it is not recycled rubber which is being reheated. It is also the reason it doesn’t crack, break down or contain any carcinogenic materials.

We stock a couple variation of Huber mats, N20 comfort roll of mat and 4GS mattress would be our most popular. There are now over 100,000 dairy cows in Ireland laying on Huber mat and more than 3,000,000 cows worldwide.

Barrier Options:

We have several barrier options fixed or hinged, all manufactured here in Cork. We have a full range of standard barriers to fit a standard bay. We also manufacture barriers to suit your needs. Made to order and hot dip galvanised

Standard diagonal barrier, reduced bullying and minimums waste silage. This barrier can be hinged with treated timber and drop channels.

Head locking barrier, adjustable neck width 60 OD 4mm wall pipe top and bottom. A very robust barrier ideal for quickly handling groups of livestock.

Standard Diagonal Barrier

Head Locking Barrier

Patented Barriers

We have two barriers that we have patented:

Ultra-Safe Locking Barrier has all the features of our standard head locking barrier with the extra benefit of extra reach and the safety of a fully hinged head lock. This allows the cow an easier and safe exit from the barrier.

Cow-Pow Moving Barrier is exactly what it sounds like. A barrier that can cover a 7ft passage or head to head 14ft. This barrier can also come with 3 stage locking to control the stages of feeding. This system is ideal for block feeding silage which reduces labour at feeding time as you can stock feed for 2 to 3 days. Cows are general more satisfied as they always have feed in front of them and can follow a normal grazing pattern. You also need less feeding space as you are now utilising each space more with a constant feed level in our livestock housing.

Ultra-Safe Locking Barrier

Cow-Pow Moving Barrier

Drinkers

Water plays a key role in milk production, control of body temperature and many other body functions in dairy cattle. Water intake, availability and quality are often overlooked. Generally, cows only drink in short bouts (7-12 times a day) during which they consume a total of between 10 to 20 litres of water.

As a rule of thumb with beef cattle, consumption will range from 1 gallon per 100 pounds of body weight during cold weather to nearly 2 gallons per 100 pounds of body during the hottest weather. Lactating cows require nearly twice as much water compared to dry cows.

Flipping Drinkers 1.25m & 2 Meters

This is a durable stainless steel flipping drinker. This water trough can be easily mounted to a wall to provide fresh water on a constant basis to animals while housed.

A common problem with drinking tanks in houses is water being fouled. Cleaning out tanks can often be an arduous task but with the flipping drinker, contents can be simply dumped by a quick flick over of the tank, which is on a pivot.

This water tank is available in 1.25m or 2m lengths

At O’Donovan Engineering, our motto is “quality and innovation give us the edge” – and this is the standard we hold ourselves to. With 40 years’ experience in the market, we have the solutions to make your farm work for you.