Flooring

Fiberglass flooring for large animal kennels isn’t anything new. Early adopters of lightweight, thermo-neutral flooring materials go back nearly 20 years. The same floor panels are still in use after 20 years. What is “new” is better information about the return on investment (ROI) in better materials.

Traditional, large animal flooring has consisted of polyvinyl-coated expanded, metal grating systems. Basically, a metal floor assembly (typically carbon steel) is dipped and coated with a soft PVC material. These panels are then suspended to form a raised floor for dogs, pigs, sheep, goats, and other small livestock. The size of the opening may be customized depending on the size of solid waste that is expected. In some cases, a vendor may provide other colors (blue, brown, and beige). These panels must be specifically designed for each application as field modifications are extremely difficult.

The issues with vinyl-coated systems are numerous; perhaps these will sound familiar.

1. Because the underlying material is metal, PVC flooring can and will “sag” over time. Heavy animals and human activity literally bend the metal surface into an uncomfortable, uneven, and wavy surface.

2. The soft vinyl coating is easily worn away, exposing the underlying metals that will rapidly oxidize in a lab animal environment. Two primary sources cause the vinyl to wear off:

• Regular use of the floors (especially in slide-out kennel situations) creates localized wear spots, and

• Animal chewing. At least one veteran lab animal veterinarian that we consulted with reported a group of dogs that completely de-nuded the surface of their vinyl-coated floors.

3. In order to achieve the structural stability needed to support the weight of large animals, a lot of metal must be used. The result: these panels are heavy, complicating the husbandry task and creating a high risk of lifting injury. To circumvent this, panels have to be made smaller, so there are more of them, which is counterproductive in an environment where “less is more.”

Approximately 20 years ago, fiberglass decking materials were introduced to the laboratory animal environment. This material was commonly used for walkways and platforms in and around chemical production facilities. These panels consist of a set of connected T-bars or I-bars. The engineered shape gives these lightweight structures considerable load-bearing capacity. Spacing between the bars may vary and they are generally available in gray, white, and safety yellow. The panels are easily cut and modified to fit virtually any application.