Contents
The development of technologies for the production of milk and meat dictates the conditions for keeping cattle. The use of machine milking machines and halls specially adapted for this process is forcing livestock breeders to switch to loose housing of cows.
Before the collapse of the USSR, even millionaire collective farms often did not have equipment to automate the process of obtaining milk, and milking was done manually. With this method it was convenient to keep the animals on a leash. But this method of production significantly increased the cost of the final product. And milk cows gave less milk. This was well felt by the residents of the Union, who stood in line for sour cream, and received butter on cards.
Pros and cons of loose cows
The tethered option is very convenient for manual milking, as the cows remember their stall and get into it themselves. Under the Soviet system, when certain cows were assigned to each milkmaid, this was also a way to save time by not looking for “your” cows in the stall.
With tied cattle, it is easier to carry out veterinary manipulations. Each cow can be provided with an individual diet. However, in the USSR they did not think about such trifles. With tethered housing, space was saved, and it was possible not to think about the behavior of individual cows.
But even in the USSR, they understood the need for movement; cattle were kept on a leash only in the barn. They were driven out into the pens to “breathe the air” without leashes. Therefore, almost all the advantages of tethered content, except for the veterinary examination, disappeared.
With the development of automation, approaches to keeping livestock began to change. The advantages of the untethered method outweighed its disadvantages and the advantages of the tether:
- maximum automation of the dairy farm;
- reduction in required personnel;
- reducing the labor intensity of keeping livestock;
- improving the health of cows through a mobile lifestyle.
Herd animals have another feature: they feel calmer when they are in a herd. The loose method allows you to bring livestock as close as possible to natural conditions.
But loose content also has its downsides:
- it is more difficult to monitor health, since a sick individual cannot always be seen in a herd;
- it is impossible to choose an individual diet for each cow.
The latter, in Our Country, is still not popular, and this circumstance cannot be seriously attributed to shortcomings. There is another serious disadvantage for the introduction of loose content in Our Country: the lack of specialists who understand this method.
An attempt to independently introduce loose housing on existing farms leads to the situation in the photographs below.
Both on one and on the other photo is an attempt to independently organize the loose keeping of the herd. Result: “we wanted the best, but it turned out as always.”
Loose housing technology for cows
Non-linked content can be:
- box;
- combibox;
- on a deep bed.
Between the first two, the difference lies in the location of the feeders.
In all cases, the dairy herd also requires the construction or separate equipment of a milking parlor. The technology of loose keeping of dairy cows is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.
Fattening bulls can simply be kept in a pen. In a warm region, a light shelter from rain, wind or sun will be enough for them. The room for dairy cattle is equipped so that the cows immediately from the main room get into the dairy shop. Dairy cattle spend most of their time indoors. And free-stall dairy farm equipment is not just about putting up 4 walls and bringing them under the roof. For the same reason, old barns cannot be converted to new principles, although farmers claim that even in this case, milk yields increase.
In the literature, one can come across the opinion that cows in boxes do not need bedding. But if the owner needs a clean and healthy udder in his animal, then bedding is a must.
Litter material
In the West, various materials are used for cow bedding:
- straw;
- sawdust;
- sand;
- paper;
- processed manure.
In Our Country, only the first two types are most common.
Straw is an almost ideal bedding material. It passes slurry well and can be easily processed into fertilizers. But soiled straw bedding becomes an ideal breeding ground for mastitis-causing bacteria. Capital cleaning of the straw “bed” is carried out once a month, and sprinkled every day.
Sawdust, like straw, absorbs slurry well, is easy to use and store. Minus: fresh sawdust may be too wet, which will also lead to the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
Sand, when used correctly, is very economical. Replacement is required every six months. It prevents the development of pathogenic bacteria. The sand provides the cow with a good grip on the floor. Requires less storage space than straw. Of the minuses – high transport costs. It is also not fully understood how sand interacts with slurry.
Paper is more suitable for free keeping of chickens. Its use in animal husbandry is not recommended:
- coated does not absorb liquid well, and cows lie in dampness;
- gets dirty quickly;
- very high need for highly absorbent newsprint cuts;
- cows tend to eat litter.
Since old printed materials are usually used for bedding, such paper contains a large amount of lead. The only advantage of paper can be that it is often sold treated with antibacterial drugs.
Recycled manure is currently only used in England and Scotland. The material is new and understudied. Not recommended for use in calving areas or as bedding for calves.
Equipment for loose keeping of cattle
In the case of tethered housing, the cow stands with her head to the feeder, and her croup over the groove for collecting manure. With serviceable equipment, a conveyor belt passes through this groove, with the help of which manure is removed. In a critical situation, the stall can also be cleaned manually.
With loose housing, this will not work, since livestock moves freely. This means that mixing of excrement and heavy contamination of the farm is inevitable. Accordingly, farms are built immediately with the expectation of loose content. This applies primarily to the floor and communications under it. The rest can indeed be equipped in old barns. It’s an old principle: building a house starts with sewerage.
Gender
The sewer on the farm is a conveyor belt laid under the floor. The chute, like the conveyor belt, must be across the entire width of the free space. Since the floor in this case is made of iron bars, the cows push the excrement through the holes onto the conveyor belt. Further, either the manure goes through the conveyor into the pit, or it rots under the floor for six months before harvesting.
The latter is undesirable, as it guarantees stink and a large number of flies. And from urine the iron of the gratings will quickly rust.
The second option is cow boxes with bedding and a bare concrete or rubber floor in the aisles. This floor is easy to clean with a mini bulldozer and rinse with a hose. But for water and urine, drains must also be laid.
Feeders and boxes
The equipment for free-standing combi-box housing of cows differs from the box one only in the location of the feeders. With boxing, the feeders are located on the opposite side of the passage. With a combibox, they are combined with cow stalls.
With boxed loose housing of cows, three passes must be made: two between the feeders and stalls and one distributing one. In a warm region, you can take the feeders outside under a canopy, then a dispensing passage will not be needed indoors.
With a combi box, the feeder is located close to the stall. That is, the cow eats in the same place where she lies down to rest. Behind her is a common space for the whole herd. In this case, there is only one “working” passage: distributing.
Stall dimensions for cattle in loose housing
With a very large number of cows, the herd is divided into sections with loose housing. Each section contains 30-50 heads. For rest, cows are equipped with boxes measuring 2,0×1,1 m. In fact, these are the same stalls that I use when tethered, but there are no attachments for chains in these boxes.
With box keeping, the passage between the feeder and the box should be 3 m wide. The “bath” for rest is made taking into account the fact that the litter can fall on the floor.
A “bath” is made either one for all, or a separate one for each box. In the second case, it will be very inconvenient to clean the contaminated bedding. The edges of the “bath” should be 15-20 cm higher than the passages. Bedding material is poured into the resulting container.
On farms, in order to save money, they often practice loose keeping of cows without bedding. But with such a content, there is a high probability of mastitis due to cold and injuries when the cow lies on the bare floor.
With a large number of cattle, groups in sections are formed taking into account age and physiological state. Cows are divided into:
- new hotels;
- dairy;
- dry.
It is also undesirable to put very young and old individuals together. The young are looking for their place in the hierarchy of the herd, and the old often can no longer fight back.
Features of loose housing of cows on deep litter
It is advisable to keep cows on deep litter in regions with a large amount of cheap straw. But with such content, there are certain nuances. The principle of deep bedding for livestock has passed into animal husbandry from horse breeding. This is the old English method of keeping horses.
The nuance is that deep bedding is not just a large amount of straw piled up in the room. When kept on a deep bedding of straw, a mattress is made using a special technology. There are no specialists in Our Country who are capable of laying straw correctly.
There is another point. A cow is a very “wet” animal. She excretes more urine than a horse. Cattle manure is also semi-liquid. This makes keeping cattle on a straw mattress very difficult. If, when caring for a horse, it is enough to pick up apples and lay the bedding on top with fresh straw, then when keeping a cow, you will have to remove the entire top layer. If the livestock is free-range, it mixes the straw and spreads the manure on the bedding.
The encountered recommendations to clean the straw mattress 1-2 times a year also “came” from horse breeding. When keeping cows, this operation will have to be carried out at least 1 time in 3 months. Or more often.
A straw mattress has a significant plus: thanks to the bacteria remaining on the straw, under the influence of decomposing urine, the straw begins to rot. After six months or a year, ready-made fertilizer is obtained from it. But a large number of bacteria is also a minus: when the straw is contaminated, they provoke the development of mastitis in cows.
With constantly clean bedding, mastitis almost never occurs. But if the cows are forced to lie down on a dirty “bed”, then more than 50% get sick with infectious mastitis.
sawdust bedding
Cows are kept on sawdust by private owners using special bacteria. According to the technology, it is required that the layer of sawdust be 40 cm. This is quite consistent with the content on a deep litter. But owner reviews are often negative. They claim that in winter the bacteria really work and keep the bedding dry and warm. But in the spring, cattle may well “swim”.
Advertising claims that the bedding lasts 3 years and during this time it turns into a ready-made fertilizer. The reasons why the “bed” liquefies in the first spring are unknown. The only answer from the managers: the technology is broken.
Feeding areas for loose housing on deep litter
With a common keeping area, the aft part is made separately on a walking area or in a special compartment of the building. In this place, feeders are equipped for succulent feed. Hay and straw are fed through the bars. You can’t just put the roll in the feeding area, as in the photo below. The animals will spread the hay in an even layer on the floor and will not eat.
For rolls, special fences are made that will not allow cows to spread feed throughout the compartment. It is advisable to arrange a stern either indoors or under a canopy. Feeding hay and straw outdoors in bad weather will result in unnecessary losses. Concentrates are given out in the milking section directly during milking.
milking compartment
Milking platforms are equipped the same way for all types of loose housing. The arrangement of the site depends on the type of milking machine. But the main requirement is that the cows come to the site immediately from the residential section. On small farms, small milking machines are placed directly in the sections for keeping dairy cows. In this case, there is no need to equip a separate room.
Cons of keeping on deep litter
In horse breeding, there are only solid advantages from this method: the labor intensity of care is reduced and after six months the owner receives ready-made fertilizer. In animal husbandry, everything is more complicated. Since the cow’s manure is semi-liquid, and she mixes it with straw, the bedding gets dirty very quickly. Observations have established that cows stand on dirty bedding more often than they lie. In such cases, they prefer to lie down on a cleaner, but concrete floor. In addition, cattle are not able to maintain a standing position for a long time. As a result, the cold floor causes colds.
Daily routine at a free-range cattle farm
Animals easily get used to any daily routine and here it is necessary to adapt to the staff, and not to the cows. Roughage in cattle should be freely available at all times. Juicy give during the day. It is better to give concentrates during milking in order to develop positive reflexes in the animal. But the time of distribution of feed on each farm may vary. Morning milking usually takes place from 6 to 8 am. Her time depends entirely on the schedule that the owner of the farm wants to see.
With two milkings, the next time the cows are put into the installation at 18-20 hours. With three times, the intervals between milkings should be 8 hours.
Preparing for the transition to loose cow housing
When switching to free-range keeping of cows, it will be cheaper to demolish the old buildings and put new ones in their place. But this is on condition that everything will be done according to technology, and not “as always”. During the reconstruction, only the walls and the roof will remain from the farm building.
Building
The old floor is completely removed and wide conveyor belts are laid under it. Tapes are laid at a depth of about 30 cm below the floor level. Doing manure storage directly under the floor is not worth it. Rotting excrement releases too many harmful substances, which will affect the health of both animals and staff. On top of the tapes, gratings are made.
Further, on the site of future boxes, “baths” for beds are equipped. Boxes are not just separating pipes. These pipes are made folding so that when cleaning, a mini-bulldozer can drive into the “bath” and shovel the dirty bedding. On modern farms, not only boxes are automated, but also milking machines. The second stage is the training or recruitment of new personnel.
Staff
In loose housing, automation is used to reduce the number of personnel. To work on such a farm, staff must be able to handle a computer. If the farm is large, then all operations are fully automated, and it will no longer be possible to work the old fashioned way. From an organizational point of view, this is the most difficult part of the work, since, most likely, you will have to completely change the farm staff.
Sessions:
When filling the barn, the age of the animals and climatic conditions are taken into account. The entire barn can be divided into sections for animals of different ages. The calculation of the required space is made based on the size and age:
- calf up to 12 months – 2,5 m²;
- young cow 1-2 years old – from 3 m²;
- adult animal – from 5 m².
If the herd spends most of the time indoors, then the area for one adult is increased to 7 m². More space can be allocated, but it must be borne in mind that livestock lives indoors if the barn is located in a cold region. Heating on farms is usually not done, as animals are able to heat the room with their own heat. If the barn is too large and the number of cattle is too small, it will be very cold in the barn in winter.
livestock selection
It is better to start the transition to loose housing with young animals or cows accustomed to the herd. Animals have their own hierarchy. With the joint keeping of young animals, it is established in games, and in the future, the “revision” of one’s place in the herd takes place with fewer injuries or without them at all. When collected in a herd of adult animals, serious fights are possible, up to piercing the peritoneum with horns.
To avoid the latter situation, it is better to initially buy polled cattle or dehorn calves in the first days of life. If there is nothing to choose from and the cows are horned, about 3 cm of horns will have to be cut off before the animals are released into the herd.
Rearrangements in an already established group of cows are perceived painfully and reduce milk yield. Without special need, it is better not to launch a new individual into an already established group.
Such conditions were often practiced on collective farms: during the day, cattle on the run in a paddock at large, at night in the farm building on a leash. Hierarchy in the herd of cows was successfully established during the daytime in paddocks. Given the difficulty of rebuilding old buildings to new standards, this combined method of maintenance may still be relevant today.
It should also be borne in mind that in the West, farm automation began not because of progressiveness and technical development, but because of the high cost of manual labor. It is better to spend money on automatic systems and put one person to care for 2000 cows than to pay 100 employees. In Our Country, manual labor is cheaper. Before automating a farm, you need to calculate what will be more profitable.
Conclusion
Loose keeping of cows is a promising direction in animal husbandry. But it is most effective to build a farm immediately with the expectation of this type of content. Rebuild is very difficult, almost impossible.
