Housing for Different Livestock and Poultry
For dairy cattle, care should be taken to provide comfortable accommodation for an individual cattle. No less important is the (1) Proper sanitation, (2) durability, (3) arrangements for the production of clean milk under convenient and economic conditions, etc.
Location of dairy buildings:
The points- which should be considered before the erection of dairy buildings are as follows:
Topography and drainage: A dairy building should be at a higher elevation than the surrounding ground to offer a good slope for rainfall and drainage for the wastes of the dairy to avoid stagnation within. A leveled area requires less site preparation and thus lesser cost of building. Low lands and depressions and proximity to places of bad odour should be avoided.
Soil type: Fertile soil should be spared for cultivation. Foundation soil as far as possible should not be too dehydrated or desiccated. Such a soil is susceptible to considerable swelling during rainy season and exhibit numerous cracks and fissures.
Exposure to the sun and protection from wind: A dairy building should be located to a maximum exposure to the sun in the north and minimum exposure to the sun in the south and protection from prevailing strong wind currents whether hot or cold. Buildings should be placed so that direct sunlight can reach the platforms, gutters and mangers in the cattle shed. As far as possible, the long axis of the dairy barns should be set in the north-south direction to have the maximum benefit of the sun.
Accessibility: Easy accessibility to the buildings i& always desirable. Situation of a cattle shed by the side of the main road preferably at a distance of about 100 meters should be aimed at.
Durability arid attractiveness: It is always attractive when the buildings open up to a scenic view and add to the grandeur of the scenery. Along with this, durability of the structure is obviously an important criteria in building a dairy.
Water supply: Abundant supply of fresh, clean and soft water should be available at a cheap rate.
Surroundings: Areas infested with wild animals and dacoits should be avoided. Narrow gates, high manager curbs, and loose hinges, protruding nails, smooth finished floor in the areas where the cows move and other such hazards should be eliminated.
Labour: Honest, economic and regular supply of labour is available.
Marketing: Dairy buildings should only be in those areas from where the owner can sell his products profitably and regularly. He should be in a position to satisfy the needs of the farm within no time and at a reasonable price.
Electricity: Electricity is the most important sanitary method of lighting a dairy. Since a modern dairy always handles electric equipments which are also economical, it is desirable to have an adequate supply of electricity.
Facilities, labour, food: Cattle yards should be so constructed and situated in relation to feed storages, hay stacks, silo and manure pits as to effect the most efficient utilization of labour. Sufficient space per cow and well arranged feeding mangers and resting areas contribute not only to greater milk yield of cows and make the work of the operator easier but also minimizes feed expenses. The relative position of the feed stores should be quite, adjacent to the cattle barn. Noteworthy features of feed stores are given below:
Feed storages should be located at hand near the centre of the cow barn.
Milk-house should be located almost at the centre of the barn.
Centre cross-alley should be well designed with reference to feed storage, the stall area and the milk house of Housing:
Type of Housing:
The most widely prevalent practice in this country is to tie the cows with rope on a Kutcha floor except some" organized dairy farms belonging to Government, co-operatives or Military where proper housing facilities exist It is quite easy to understand that unless cattle are provided with good housing facilities, the animals will move too far in or out of the standing space, defecting all round and even causing trampling and wasting of , feed by stepping into the mangers. The animals will be exposed to extreme weather conditions all leading to bad health and lower production.
Dairy cattle may be successfully housed under a wide variety of conditions, ranging from close confinement to little restrictions except at milking time. However two types of dairy barns are-in general use at the present time.
The loose housing barn in combination with some type of milking barn or parlour.
The conventional dairy barn.
Comments are closed.