5 Protect your animals from rain and strong winds.
Some important aspects that must be taken into account in designing housing for dairy animals are:
| 5 Protect your animals from rain and strong winds. |
 | 7 and from extreme cold. |
| - Costs of construction and subsequent maintenance. (9-10 - Prevention of feed wastage. (11) |
 | 8 Make sure there is good ventilation. |
 | Low construction and maintenance costs 9 Use cheap materials available locally e.g. - bamboo and coconut - seasoned leaves - coconut frond mats (cadjan) |
 | Preventing feed wastage 11 Your animals should feed easily from racks and troughs and not trample on the feed. |
| - Prevention of injury to animals. (12-15) |
 | Preventing injury 12 Make sure the standing is not slippery |
 | 13 and there is the right amount of space for your animal to get up and lie down easily. |
 | 14 Too little space makes it difficult for your animal to lie down and get up and may cause injury. |
 | 15 Too much space allows your animal to move across and drop dung and urine on the standing. |
| - Easy and profitable disposal of dung, urine and other wastes. (16-18) - Convenience for operational activities e.g. feeding, milking and maintenance of hygienic environment. (19) |
 | Making use of wastes 16 In well-designed housing you can easily remove dung, urine and other wastes |
 | 17 and use them to make compost manure (See H. 1.2 Compost Manure) |
 | Ease of feeding, milking, cleaning 19 Well designed housing makes these operations easier (See below). |
The more productive dairy cattle have a high metabolic rate which results in the production of a considerable amount of heat. Thus they would be more comfortable in a cold, dry climate than in a hot, humid climate because the former would be helpful in getting rid of the extra body heat. However, there are vast areas with hot and humid tropical climates in the region. The basic model presented, therefore, would be one suitable for these unfavourable conditions. Providing adequate ventilation and protection from excessive sunlight and heavy rains is extremely important under these conditions. This model can be easily modified to meet the needs of the climatic conditions, by providing half walls, curtains etc. where necessary.
The materials used for construction and the construction itself should not be too expensive. Many small farmers cannot afford such luxury even for their own dwellings. However, the material used should be durable, otherwise the costs of repairs and maintenance will be too high. Fortunately in most rural areas less expensive material such as bamboo, coconut and other wood and cadjan (mats made of coconut frond), straw or other seasoned leaves are used traditionally and indigenous technology is available.
It is quite common for small scale producers with one to a few dairy cattle to house them in open sheds with an earth floor. Sometimes cattle may be kept in a basement under the human dwelling or under a stack of straw. Even though the animals may have shelter from sun and rain, and the construction costs are minimal, the other requirements are generally not met. (20-23)
 | 21 Other farmers keep their animals in a basement under their house |
 | 23 Although this housing protects your animals from sun and rain and is cheap to build |
Most of these problems can be overcome to a very great extent by:
- Constructing the shed in a well drained area and having a shallow drain around the shed. (26)
 | 24 there are problems of: - feed wastage by trampling - difficulty of cleaning dung, urine and mud (unhygienic environment) |
 | 25 - not making good use of dung and urine. Good design of housing can overcome these problems. |
 | 27 Make a good structure for tying your animals, best in a row with the right space and a separate area for calves. |
- Waste of feed, specially by trampling, is prevented by designing a suitable feed trough from which the animal can conveniently pick up its feed, whether it be cut and preferably chopped roughage or concentrate. (29)
- Making the roof leak-proof i.e. maintaining the roof in a good state of repair, especially during rainy weather. (30)
- Ramming the floor adequately with gravel to have an even floor and attending to the floor regularly to prevent uneven areas developing. (31)
 | 28 Make a partition between your animals and the feed area. This prevents the trampling of roughage feed. |
 | 29 Make suitable containers for concentrates/minerals and for water. |
 | 30 Make sure your roof does not leak. Check it and repair if necessary before the rainy season. |
 | 31 Make sure the shed floor is even. Ram it with gravel and use a roller, if possible. |
| - Providing a sufficient slope to prevent urine and water flowing towards the animal or stagnating in pools. (32) - Providing suitable bedding such as saw dust, left over roughage, straw etc. into which some of the urine may be absorbed and which can subsequently be used for compost making. (33) It would be advantageous if dung, urine and other wastes could be disposed of in a manner that would facilitate the production of compost. By arranging for the dung and urine to pass through a bio-gas digester, an additional benefit of a supply of bio-gas can be obtained, at the same time reducing the breeding of flies. - Taking the animal outside the shed for bathing, washing, spraying etc. (34) - Providing curtains made of material available in the area e.g. bamboo strips, cadjan etc. to prevent rain beating in and cold draughts disturbing the animals (where applicable). (35) |
 | 32 Make sure your floor has enough slope so that water and urine - do not pool - flow away from your animal. |
 | 33 Lay down suitable bedding e.g. saw-dust, straw, left-over roughage to soak up urine and to make compost manure. |
 | 35 Use curtains made of local materials (bamboo strips, coconut fronds etc) where rain or cold draughts may disturb your animals. |
Construction of improved housing
The basic simple model can be improved upon in various ways. Some examples are discussed below. Before making recommendations to farmers, the extension officers should:
- Understand the benefits of these improvements. (37)
- Work out their costs, as applicable to the particular situation. (38)
 | 36 Grow trees (fruit, legume etc) at a suitable distance from your shed to provide shade and stop strong winds. |
 | How can you construct improved housing to better meet the needs of your dairy animals? 37 In many ways but make sure: - you understand how the improvements will help you |
 | 39 - you discuss with other farmers who have already made improvements. |
If the cattle/buffalo are to be kept in the basement under the human dwelling or if a shed is to be constructed making use of an existing wall of a house, there will be very little choice in siting the cattle shed. (40)
If a choice is available, the following should be taken into account in siting.
- Well drained and at a higher elevation. (41)
- Trees for shade and to serve as wind breaks or possibility of growing them if no trees exist.
- Avoiding direct draught into shed and preventing severe winds blowing off the roof. (42)
Siting your cow shed
 | 40 If you keep your animals: - under your own house - or in a shed attached to your house the site is already selected. |
 | 41 If you can choose, your site should be: - well drained - on high ground |
 | 43 - easy to get to: - to bring feed and water - to take away milk. |
The layout is usually constrained by the availability of space and funds in the small farmer situation. Several alternatives can be considered. Flexibility, cost saving and optimum utilization of space (e.g. ceiling to store hay or straw) are important criteria. (44)
- If making use of an existing wall, an elongated shed can be constructed and an area can be separated for calves etc. (45)
 | Layout 44 Small scale farmers should think carefully about - good use of space - low costs. |
 | 45 You can construct a shed against an existing wall and make a separate area for calves. |
 | 47 you may use only Stage 1 of the cow shed plan (see below). |
