Tailor-made flooring solutions for calf pens

Animal-friendly flooring is of central importance for calves. It influences how safely the animals move, how comfortably they lie and how clean the pens remain. Under the current German Animal Protection - Livestock Ordinance, calves in the barn must be provided with a dry lying area that is soft or elastically deformable. For concrete slatted floors or Bongossi floors, covering the surface with sufficiently soft or elastically deformable rubber mats offers a practical solution - both for new construction and for renovating existing pens.

Custom-made KRAIBURG slatted flooring helps farms implement these requirements quickly and easily. It is suitable for the fattening of veal calves, the fattening of beef calves and calf rearing and is precisely tailored to the geometry of the existing slatted floor.

When selecting elastic flooring, it is advisable to ensure compliance with DIN 3763. This standard defines both technical and animal-related requirements for elastic barn flooring. For one-area pens, products are classified into two classes: the higher the class, the greater the deformability or softness of the flooring.

The KRAIBURG KURA S and KURA SB slat mats are designed for use with calves and young cattle and meet the requirements of DIN Class 2. They are intended for calves and young cattle weighing up to 250 kg. If the animals are kept in the same pen throughout the entire rearing or fattening period, the mats can also be used for animals weighing up to 350 kg.

The large-area, custom-made mats extend across several slatted floor elements, thereby contributing to their positional stability. They are fixed in the slits using patented rubber pegs. The mats are also easy to clean and disinfect.

In addition to lying and walking comfort, cleanliness is a key planning criterion. For calves, the slit width in concrete slatted floors must not exceed 25 mm. When rubber mats are used, slit widths of up to 30 mm are permitted under the requirements of the German Animal Protection - Livestock Ordinance. An appropriately designed slit configuration can facilitate the drainage of liquids and manure, thereby contributing to cleaner floor conditions.

With the 24 mm thick KURA S, KRAIBURG offers a custom-made solution for a variety of slatted floor geometries. The tried-and-tested grip surface ensures slip resistance, whilst the stud profile on the lower side provides animal-friendly softness.

Johannes Wilger, a veal calf farmer from Velen, Germany, has been using KURA S for several years and reports: “The animals are healthier and grow better. Thanks to the rubber mats, they have a higher slaughter weight at the end of the fattening period, and I can use my Bongossi slatted floors for longer. Cleaning time has been greatly reduced and water consumption has also decreased significantly.”

The 28 mm-thick KURA SB is available for common longitudinal and cross slatted floors. Its curved surface, with a slope of about 5 % toward the slot, facilitates the drainage of liquids and supports rapid drying of the surface. The square pattern additionally improves slip resistance. Studs on the lower side provide the necessary softness.

Herbert Schweiger from Burgkirchen, Germany, has installed KURA SB for rearing beef calves: “For me, KRAIBURG KURA SB mats are an ideal solution for meeting legal requirements. Thanks to the rubber flooring, I have not had a single animal with injuries or hoof problems. The calves are also very clean.”

Whether for new construction or renovation, individual planning is crucial for calf pens that perform reliably over the long term. KRAIBURG manufactures rubber mats to fit the specific geometry of each slatted floor precisely. This allows animal comfort, slip resistance and easy cleaning to be combined according to individual requirements.

Further information:

KURA S slat mat

KURA SB slat mat