Stable equipment for cattle

One of the most important aspects of building a barn is cattle stall equipment. It is needed for a large herd and for a small family farm. The article will talk about it in more detail.

The choice of a stable depends on the way the cows are kept. The main requirements for it are practicality, combined with the idea of ​​convenience and safety for animals. It includes:

• various limiters;
• feeder;
• drinker.

Stable equipment for cattle

Equipment for loose cattle

With this method of keeping, the main area of ​​the barn is divided into separate pens. Along the entire barn, holes are made using metal parts through which a cow or calf, with its head inserted, can take food and drink water.

In each paddock, with loose housing, a small number of cows are kept, which have the ability to move freely inside it. They cannot get from one corral to another.

To get food, they must go to the right edge of the pen and stick their head in the trough.

Equipment for cattle tethered keeping

This method requires chains or belts. In this case, the livestock is loosely tied by the neck so that the cow or bull can easily reach the trough and drinker. In this case, the animal does not have the opportunity to freely roam between the stalls.

Equipment for cattle tethered keeping

For livestock create an environment to which they gradually get used to. In this case, the livestock is positioned so that there is a flat cement floor behind with a slope towards the ditch. This makes it possible to remove cow manure as needed.

The dimensions of the stall for tied bulls are usually no more than 120 x 260 cm. If the bull is an adult intended for insemination, the space provided for him may be larger.

Cattle feeder

A special device is used to assist in servicing animals - a cattle feed dispenser. All portions of food are immediately loaded into it, then, moving along the aisle, he measures the required amount of food into the cow feeders.

With the help of the feeder, you can organize the supply of haylage, silage, green fodder, forage mixtures for cattle. This mechanism provides for the possibility of dispensing food both to one and to both sides of the passage along which it moves.

Such devices must meet the requirements:

1. Food should be distributed to the entire barn in no more than 30 minutes.
2. Safety standards must be followed. At the same time, you need to think not only about the farm workers, but also about the livestock. In particular, it is necessary to take into account the requirements for ensuring electrical safety (animals must not be harmed by old faulty wiring). If there are any faults, repair is required immediately.
3. The portion of feed dispensed to each nursery must be accurately measured.The deviation should not exceed 5% when it comes to concentrated feed. For hay, the accuracy is 15%.
4. It is unacceptable when food stratification occurs when feeding into a feeder for bulls or cows.

Cattle feeder

Scales for cattle electronic

To raise livestock, it is important to control the weight of each animal. For this purpose, special electronic scales are used. Their main distinguishing features:

1. The scales are capable of working with a fairly large weight: 300-5000 kg.
2. The size of the weighing platform can reach 3 by 5 meters.

The cattle scale consists of the following three parts:

• weighing platform;
• fencing;
• indicator where the weighing results are shown.

Scales for cattle electronic

Additionally, the kit may include:

1. A ramp with which the animal can easily enter the weighing platform.
2. Sometimes wheels are included in the kit to be able to move the scales around the workshop.
3. Additional indicator where you can see the weighing results.

The metal parts of the equipment for cattle must be protected from rust.

The principle of operation of electronic scales is the use of strain gauges, which are located at the four corners of the weighing platform. Each of them simultaneously serves as a support and allows you to read data to determine the weight of the animal.

The balance must meet the following conditions:

1. They should provide stabilization of the determination of the weight of the animal.
2. It is necessary to be able to accurately zero.
3. The ability to take into account the tare weight.

There are two installation options. In the first, simpler case, they are simply placed on a flat area of ​​the floor. In the second case, a recess is made in the floor into which the scales should fit. In this case, the weighing surface should be flush with the floor. This option requires additional work during installation, but is more convenient for livestock.

Cattle farm ventilation

Cattle are often kept in barns built of reinforced concrete blocks. They are relatively cheap, but at the same time have a strong temperature dependence on weather and climatic conditions.

Cattle farm ventilation

At the same time, air accumulates inside, which contains cows' waste, dust, dirt. It becomes a source of health problems for the animals and people working here. In particular, this has a negative effect on the productivity of cattle.

What you can do yourself

In some cases, it is possible to make useful devices yourself. Here are two examples.

Cow feeder

If you need a do-it-yourself cow feeder in a barn, you can do it as follows.

To make a feeder in a barn, you need tools:

• roulette;
• boards;
• hand saw;
• plane;
• wooden slats.

Step by step instructions for work:

1. First you need to make a drawing of the hay feeder for the cows. This will be an open top box. The dimensions of its bottom are 45 by 80 cm. The height of the far edge is 1 m, and the near one is 30 cm. A semicircular notch is made in the front part. It is designed for the neck of the cow.
2. The boards need to be cleaned with a plane. They should be smooth and snug against each other.
3. We nail the boards with nails and as a result we get a box for the feeder.
4. We attach a frame of rails to the near wall. When feeding, the cow will have to stick its head into it and while eating it will not be able to scatter feed.

Cow feeder

Now the cattle feeder for hay is ready.

DIY vegetable cutter for livestock

Feed preparation plays an important role in keeping livestock. In particular, chopped vegetables should be fed into cattle feeders.

You can make a do-it-yourself vegetable cutter for livestock yourself, at home. This requires, first of all, two components: certain skills in working with metal and a working electric motor. For example, you can use the one in the old washing machine.

The work is carried out as follows:

1. You need to take an old bucket or other similar metal container.
2. In its bottom, you need to drill a hole with a diameter of 1 cm.
3. In the lower part of the side surface of the bucket, a rectangular hole is made, the width of which should not be more than one and a half centimeters, the height should be about 7 to 10 cm. The edges of the cut metal must be bent outward.
4. From below, the motor axis is threaded into a round hole. Two knives are installed on it, which have different purposes. One of them must be sharp. It is designed for cutting vegetables. In the other, the side edges are slightly curled. He pushes the chopped mixture into the holes, and throws some pieces up so that they again fall under the knife.
5. To prevent the vegetables from flying far, you need to attach a curtain from the outside above the hole.
6. The motor is attached to the bottom of the bucket, the entire structure is installed on metal legs.

When cutting vegetables, a container is placed under the outlet, into which the chopped feed falls.

Tips & Tricks

Stoppers are usually made of metal. To increase their durability and to protect them from animals, it is necessary to treat them from rust in one way or another. One of the common ways is to galvanize metal parts.

In order for the air quality to be high, it is necessary to equip an air purification system using fans, special adjustable curtains and other such artificial devices.