As a dairy farmer, there are two things that need to be considered to ensure that this farming process is a success. One of the things to put into consideration is the animal breeds as well as the place where the cows live. Today I will talk about the way the cow shed should look like. The cow shed should have all the resources to ensure a proper hygiene and sufficient feeding system for the animals. So it is necessary to make sure that the cow shed has been properly and appropriately built. 

Note that a shed is a place for the cows to relax at and also has a place to sleep. But for the zero glazing cows, they spend most of the time in the shed. When you keep more than one animals, each cow should have its own partition. The partitions are known as cubicles. There are different types of cubicles. For example the cubicle where the animal feeds from and where the animal sleeps. The animal shed must be covered with an appropriate roof which is supposed to be quite high enough and which ensures proper air circulation.

When constructing the shed, it should be easy to maintain a very clear environment and a proper hygiene. The dairy cows should be clean always and also the place they are living in should be clean. This ensures that the animals remain healthy. It's therefore necessarily to clean the cow shed every day.

The floor of the animal shed should be made of rough concrete. This protects the cows from slipping. The floor should be relatively and slightly sloping which easies the drainage of the cow waste. The floor needs to be cleaned often and disinfected every day if possible. This usually help in curbing diseases like abcesses as well as foot rot.

The cow shed should be spacious to allow the animals lie down comfortably. The number of partitions should be enough for the animals. Having unoccupied cubicles can be waste of resources; both monetary resources and space. The farmer should therefore construct enough number of partitions. However, for a farmer who is planning to continue expanding his dairy farm, the shed should have extra cubicles to house the calves (heifers). For example if a farmer has 1 cow, he/she can ensure that the cow shed has 2 cubicles where the extra one cubicle will house the heifers.

A single partition (cubicle) for each cow should have a length of seven feets and a width of four to five feets. Each partition is separated from the other using 2 timbers on each side. The cow is usually not allowed to turn around while in its chamber. The troughs where water and feeds are places are in the fore region of the cow and the place where the animal sleeps is at the other end in the rear side of the animal. Each animal has its own feeding area. The cow shed should have a store which can either be on the side or be built as a storey above the cows' cubicles.

The cows should always have readily available clean water. If the area has limited water supply, it is advisable to harvest rainwater from the roof of the shed.

In conclusion, you should have the best breeds of cows like the ones in the photos below. Make sure to check my next article to get information concerning breeds of cows.

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