Cow Comfort Mats - Importance of Dairy Shed Design for Cow Comfort
Some of the basics that must be taken into account in designing Dairy Cattle Shed Ideal Comfortable environment for the cattle so that it produces more milk.
“Make your cattle Comfortable so that they produce more Milk”
Space
There should be sufficient space for cattle to rise up and lie down easily for cattle & cow comfort. Too small space makes it difficult for Cattle to rise and lie and may lead to injury.
Much of space allows cattle to move from one side to other and drop dung/ urine over the farm shed floor. Shed should be designed with ample space in mind that operational activities like feeding, milking and cleaning is labor saving and more convenient.
-Making partitions between cattle and feed area
-Row or Cubicle or Modular approach is typically advantageous.
Removal of Waste
Easy disposal of Dung / Urine and other wastes. A proper designed shed helps easily in removing dung/ urine and could be used to make compost manure or bio gas digester.
Cattle feed normally gets mashed up on floor leading to unhygienic environment and then difficult to remove. Improper drainage could result in formation of pool of dung/ urine or other wastes should be avoided. Best practices include to make use of these wastages in value added approach.
-Collection of waste through dung/ urine channel for easy removal.
Protection from rough weather
More productive cattle have high metabolic rates, and therefore generates significant amount of heat. Providing cold and dry climate than hot and humid is essential to remove this extra body heat. Indian climate typically is dominated with hot/ humid conditions.
-Keeping cattle safe from Rain and Strong Winds. -Protection from extreme heat and cold.
-Making sure there is enough ventilation.
Bedding Floor
An ideal floor should be soft, easy to rise/ lie without any obstructions. Keeping bedding dry promotes cattle & Cows, reduces growth of micro-organisms. Use of saw dust or straw helps in soaking excess of urine.
Make sure the floor area is even and have adequate slope for urine to flow away from cattle and doesn’t create a pool. Traditional bedding of mud has initial low cost but it needs regular maintenance and is labor intensive.
-High elevated floor is favorable. -Slope of at least 1.5% towards to drain channel.
-Non Slippery floor.
Cow Mats is the best solution to provide the maximum comfort to the Cows.