Cow stall size in tethered content

Any animal requires for itself some personal space. Cows are no exception. In huge industrial complexes for the production of beef or milk, such a place is a stall. The stall size for a cow, where it spends most of its time, significantly affects the amount of milk and meat products produced.

Ways to keep

Taming cattle has made a person think about keeping animals in captivity. The term "content" refers to the totality of a whole list of measures of zooghyric, veterinary and sanitary, zootechnical, organizational nature. They are determined by the technology of an enterprise and are aimed at maximizing the production of high quality livestock products.

The selection of the method of content is influenced by economic-economic and natural-climatic conditions, and the characteristics of sex-age groups of animals are also taken into account. There are only two basic ones: disconnected and tethered. In turn, they are also divided into several varieties and are applied taking into account the breed direction of the animals:

• For dairy and combined breeds cattle use stall and stall-pasture content;
• For cows of meat direction - pasture, stall-pasture and stabling systems.

In the Russian Federation, 97.5% of the total number of livestock are on tied content. A more progressive method is a loose method. Numerous studies prove that the productivity of labor on farms with a non-braced method is 2 times higher.

Stall

Creation of comfortable conditions of a cow's life is directly connected with the quantity of products received from it. The tie-up content assumes the appropriate interior arrangement of the cowshed, and one of the most important places in it is a stall for the cow. Dimensions directly depend on the breed of animals, their size.

Actually, the stall is a specially fenced individual place for one individual. On how much it is comfortable for a cow's life, not only milk yield or average daily weight gain depends, but also the duration of productive use of the animal.

Features of a stable for cows

Despite the simplicity of the design, the developers had to keep in mind not only the overall stall size for the cow, taking into account its dimensions, but also how the animal gets up and lies down. The scope for such maneuvers ensures a safe stay in the stall and a reduction in injuries.

To get up, the animal needs to stretch its head forward. Lack of space leads to discomfort and injury. The dimensions of the stall for the cows of tethered content take into account three zones:

• The distance from the knees to the tail is about 160-180 cm, the space for the body;
• The size of the head is about 50 cm when the animal lies;
• Additional room for maneuver, this is another 50 cm.

These sizes can vary, it all depends on the breed and gender and age groups. For example, for cows of deep pregnancy, they are uniquely greater. Bulls, when tied with fattening, also require more space.

Length

The stall size for a cow (tethered type of content) along the length can be three options:

• Long increases the labor costs of manual labor for cleaning manure. The stall is very difficult to keep clean, and this, in turn, significantly affects the quality of milk. Unjustified length leads to irrational use of industrial areas.
• The average (up to 1.9-2 m in length) is most often used for the tied maintenance of livestock. They provide the necessary freedom for animals to stand up, they do not injure limbs.
• Short (110-140 cm) is impractical from the point of view of animal safety. The hind limbs may slip, resulting in dislocations, sprains and hoof diseases. When equipping the rear floor of the stall with a grill (60-70 cm), the udder disease and its mechanical damage are possible to remove stool.

Width

Width - this is another indicator that determines the size of the stall for the cow. It is never less than one meter for adult animals. For repair young animals (up to 20 months old), the minimum allowed width is 80 cm.

Of course, in each case, when building a barn, it is calculated based on the breed of animals. Be sure to take into account the direction of productivity and belonging to different sex and age groups: milk cows, animals of deep pregnancy, fattening young, bulls.

Stall equipment

When tied, animals are constantly in the stalls. They are equipped with feeding troughs, automatic drill at the rate: one drinker for two cows.

The tying device fixes the animals, without interfering with them freely to get up, to lie down, to get food and to use the water bottle. Bindings can be individual and group.

With this way of keeping a stall between individuals can not be separated. Calculation of the area is made from the established norms per head, which helps to correctly design the number of places for a specific livestock. The fence, if it is, is made of pipes. The design allows you to change the size of the stall, depending on the size of the animal.

Floor

The average floor area per head on commodity farms ranges from 1.7 to 2.3 m ² . According to these data, the stall size for the cow is calculated. Features of the design of the floor are that too strong slope can injure the limbs of the cow. An inconvenient posture can provoke an abortion. Recommended slope - no more than 2 ⁰ .

The floor can be either solid or partially (40 cm) closed grate. To reduce the injury, it is closed with rubber or wooden pads. When tied, the floors are usually wooden. They keep the heat well, they are not hard, they can be kept clean enough for proper operation.

The boards must be prepared by treating with a 10% solution of creosote oil, then double coated with hot resin. The upper part of the boards (on which the animals will stand) are carefully stripped and covered with freshly lime. The floors are kept for ten days, after which they are ready for operation.

Despite all precautions, the wooden floor serves no more than 2-3 years. The tree absorbs not only urine, but also flushing water, it is very difficult to disinfect, and in conditions of high humidity the cowshed quickly rot.

Standards

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the RF developed and approved the size of the stall for the cow. NTP standards 1-99 are given in the table.

In the construction of each concrete building for the maintenance of cattle and the assembly of stall equipment, it is necessary to take into account not only the direction of the farm (dairy, meat, combined), but also the breed of animals. The stall size for a cow according to regulations developed by foreign specialists is determined as follows:

• The width should be less than the length of the body multiplied by a factor of 0.75 and not exceed twice the width of the individual in the shoulders;
• Length is 95% of the length of the animal's body plus an additional 20 cm (they provide a safety distance and serve to protect the front legs from striking the edge of the feeder).

At the same time, one can not ignore the breed features of cattle. The table below shows the size of the stall and enclosing structures, depending on the size of the cow.

* Slanting length of the trunk.

A stable for a domestic cow

The stall size for a cow in a shed on a personal farmstead is usually calculated on the basis of zoo hygiene requirements, in which, according to the standard, 1 head should account for at least 6 m ^{2 of} floor surface area. The premises for keeping one individual should not be less than 18 m ² , zoohygienic and sanitary norms require it.

The internal layout can be different and depends on the location of the stall. Average size requirements:

• Length - 1,7 m;
• Width - 1,1 m.

The length of the stall is 1,1 m in length, the breadth on the top - up to 80 cm, the bottom - up to 45 cm. The height of the outer side - 70 cm, the inner - 30 cm, in it in the middle make a cut for the neck.

The floor is made warm, impermeable to water, with a slope of 2-3 cm and necessarily above the ground level. At the rear, a manure chute is 20 cm wide and 10 cm deep, with a certain inclination towards the collection box. To make it easier to remove manure, a small window is installed above the exit of the gutter in the wall, equipped with a latch.

Requirements for stalls

The production of milk on an industrial basis does not lose its relevance. Perfection and modernization of equipment allow to increase output. Technological requirements for stalls with tied content:

• Reliable fixation of the animal for the time of milking or feeding;
• Limiting the movement of the cow beyond the stall;
• Free access and entrance;
• The size of the stall for the cow should be free to stand and lie down, the animal in a standing position should be placed on its area with all four limbs and comfortably placed in it lying;
• Unhindered access to water and feed;
• Easy and quick fixation, release of an individual or group of animals simultaneously;
• Personnel safety during maintenance;
• Minimization of manual labor.

According to research, a cow in a box convenient for her lies up to 14 hours a day, and in an inconvenient one - no more than 9. Every hour of lying increases the milk by 1 liter, per day - up to 5. On a national scale this is a colossal figure and an opportunity to increase milk production Without huge financial investments.