The use of a new technology of loose cold keeping of cattle has helped many farms to reduce the cost of milk production. Cold breeding of cattle means breeding the cattle in unheated cowsheds. Cows are kept without a leash. Many commercial companies offer foreign technologies and equipment. But it happens that the money spent in the new system of breeding the cattle does not pay off. It also happens that the poor ventilation of cowsheds causes failures. In winter, the air is to be updated in the cowshed 4 times per hour with an outside air supply of at least 15 m3 / h per 100 kg of cow weight. In summer, 40x air exchange is required. The problem is how to achieve it
The best results are achieved when the construction of a cold cowshed provides for natural air extraction through a long gap in the covering and air flow through holes in the corner and wide openings in the longitudinal walls, as the experience has already proved. In case of shortfalls, the air quality does not deteriorate, and the cows do not suffer, as it happens in cowsheds with engineering systems to ensure the microclimate. Excellent ventilation is achieved if the wind is directed perpendicular to the longitudinal wall of the cowshed. Therefore, the new room for cold keeping of cattle must be positioned with the longitudinal axis perpendicular to the direction of the prevailing winds in summer. According to the Russian standards, the building of the cowshed should be located along the longitudinal axis from north to south, and cowsheds with a width of more than 30 meters along the longitudinal axis in the direction of local winds. Many cattle farms located north of latitude 50C were built this way. This is why information about prevailing winds in your area should be taken into account before upgrading old cowshed for cold breeding.
In addition to ventilation, you need to think about the proper layout of the cowshed space. One cow needs minimum 7-8 sq.m. when being bred untied in cold conditions when taking into account the Russian climatic conditions. The cow spends a lot of time lying down. When the cattle are bred in cold conditions, the sawdust, straw or peat is used for bedding. The straw and peat absorb moisture better. The cold keeping of cattle does not imply very low sub-zero temperatures in the cowshed. The cows give off a lot of heat. The cow waste gets into the straw, which begins to burn by releasing heat. In winter, the thickness of the bedding should be at least 60 cm. In our country, there is also a negative experience of such cattle keeping, when the animals died of cold. This technology assumes the lowest possible temperature-27C. On some farms, even at a temperature of-38C, cows safely survived the cold thanks to enhanced nutrition. If you use this technology of cold keeping cattle wisely, you can significantly reduce the cost of agricultural products.
Back to Useful Articles