How to Build Shelter for Dairy Cattle?

An efficient and proper management of cattle is incomplete without a decent housing arrangement for cattle. A well-maintained shelter helps cattle to cope with the different climatic changes and improves their productivity. An improper resting place might cause numerous health issues to livestock. Therefore, it is important for cattle owners provide durable shelter, proper sanitation and a good set up for the production of milk etc.

Following are some of the essential points that need to be considered while building shed for dairy cattle :

Location and Drainage

A dairy shelter should be at a higher elevation from the ground to get a good slope for rainfall and to easily clean the drainage waste. It is suggested to avoid low lands, depressions and proximity of bad odour.

Sun Exposure and Ventilation

The shelter should get maximum sun exposure from the north side and minimum from the south. The shelter should be structured in such a way that the sunlight should reach out the platforms, feeders and gutters. Make sure the atmosphere is calm and cool with good air flow. Moreover, Sunlight performs as a powerful sanitizer that removes most of the disease developing organism.

Soil

Don’t use fertile soil, spare it for cultivation. Make sure the foundation soil should not be dry or dehydrated. This type of soil is susceptible to sustainable swelling in the rainy season and displays several gaps and cracks.

Water Availability

There should be an abundant availability of clean and fresh drinking water.  There should be a water storage facility also for bathing and cleaning purpose.

Electricity

It is important to have an adequate electricity supply.

 Shed

To stay safe and secure from the fluctuating weather and temperature, cattle need a strong and durable shed. Livestock without shelter has to put more energy into normal functioning rather than into production. The shed can reduce the dangerous effect of climatic change on cattle’s overall health. The tree is the most effective form of shade; however, tree shade is not available, the roof of shade should be fixed at the minimum height of 9 feet.

To protect cows from heat stress sprinkling water and fan can be arranged, this method will help to keep them calm and improve production capacity. To know more how to protect cattle from heat stress, check out our Next blog.

Floor

The floor of internal part of the shelter should be some waterproof, it should be easy to keep it clean and dry. In spite of proper flooring, one can just pave the bricks also.

Environment

While deciding on a location for the shelter, pest-ridden areas should be avoided. High manger curbs, bloated nails, small gates, loose hinges, smooth floor and other such kind of hazards should be excluded.

Sanitation

It is necessary to keep sanitation in dairy farm to eradicate all those microorganisms that can cause a disease in cattle.

The existence of organisms in the shelter pollutes the produced milk. Unclean, polluted environment is likely to transfer diseases that can affect badly on human health. Even the existence of various insects and flies in the shelter can annoy the livestock and spread the harmful diseases, e.g. Theileriosis, Babesiosis.

These are some of the important tips to consider while building shed for cattle brought to you by alsvetcare.com – India’s first digital veterinary pharmacy

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