Scheme of placement of cattle in loose housing

There are two types of loose housing: on deep litter and in boxes.

Loose housing on a deep litter consists in the fact that there are no cowsheds in the usual sense, but there are rest rooms where cows rest on a deep non-replaceable litter. Straw crushed to 10-15 cm (at the rate of 3-5 kg per head per day) is laid 2 times a week. The initial bedding layer should be at least 30 cm. Straw can be partially replaced with high-moor peat and sawdust. Since self-warming processes begin in the litter, which is a mixture of straw and manure, cows have a warm bed even in winter. The temperature of the litter at a depth of 5 cm in December-January is kept at the level of +8-12 °C, while the air temperature in the barn is 10-13 °C.

Adjacent to the barn is a walking area, which must necessarily have a hard surface, otherwise the cows will be constantly dirty. On the walking area there are sheds with self-feeders for roughage, in which a year's supply can be stored, and on both sides of the walking yard there are feeders for silage and haylage, which are distributed by a mobile feeder.

Barn doors should be kept open at all times (except during severe frosts) to ensure cows have constant access to feed. A milking and milking block is attached to the resting room or opposite it, which includes a milking machine, a room for washing milking and dairy equipment and for the primary processing of milk. Concentrated cow feed is obtained at the milking machine. For 1 cow there are about 5 m 2 of the area of the rest room and 8 m 2 in the walking yard.

In areas with cold winters, feeders for succulent feed are built in barns, and the milking and milking unit should be adjacent to it, since cows leaving the milking parlor to the yard can freeze their udders at very low temperatures. Manure from the recreation area is removed by a bulldozer 1-2 times a year, and the walking area is cleaned 2-3 times a week by a tractor with a bulldozer attachment. Arched barns are not suitable for such maintenance, since there is no thick layer of bedding and it is difficult to remove it. The farm also has a maternity ward with a dispensary, a room for milking freshly calved cows, a veterinary station, and an artificial insemination point.

Concentrated feed is given at the milking machine, and cows eat coarse and succulent feed ad libitum. Cows enter the maternity ward 10-15 days before calving. The cow is milked for 30-40 days, after which it is transferred to loose housing.

With loose housing, cows can move freely, and when they go out to the walking area, they can receive the necessary sunlight. The composition of the air in a barn is slightly different from that of the atmosphere. Reduced labor and capital costs for the construction of farms. Labor costs for all production operations are reduced - distribution of feed, milking, etc. A farm for 400 cows can be served by 4-5 people. The advantages of this system include minimal energy and material costs for manure removal - a few hours of bulldozer operation per year instead of building and operating special manure removal systems. Manure from the premises is mixed with straw and, due to self-warming, is free from pathogens - it can be plowed or stored in heaps. Thus, a task of great importance is being solved - protecting the environment from pollution and contamination by animal waste.

But along with the above-mentioned advantages, a number of serious problems arise in the loose keeping of cows. One of them is the danger of deterioration of zootechnical accounting.

When tethered, the cow is in a permanent place and we know about the change in her productivity, physiological state, stage of lactation and pregnancy, and depending on this, we determine her diet, carry out control milking, insemination, gynecological examination, veterinary treatment. But with loose housing, animals move freely around the barn and walking area, which greatly complicates the implementation of the above works. This is aggravated by the fact that the operator's load increases to 150-200 cows and he is not able to remember them all. There is a real danger of "losing" the cow. Since the approach to animals is difficult, the methods of marking adopted for tethered keeping (cutouts on the ears, drawing a number with tattoo forceps on the ear, etc.) are unsuitable under these conditions. Therefore, in loose housing, it is advisable for cows to wear collars, on which metal tags with the individual number of the animal are riveted on both sides. In order to identify the number of the animal on the milking machine, it is desirable to put the number on the groats by cold tagging.

The main problem is mental stress, which is experienced by some of the cows who find themselves in conditions of loose housing. When animals are combined into a group, they are initially characterized by a wary-hostile attitude towards each other. Conflicts (skirmishes) often arise in the group, the main reason for which is the struggle for a dominant position. The winner in such skirmishes is the largest and most aggressive cow, which achieves the highest rank. This means that the rest of the cows give up her resting place, places at the feeder and drinkers without resistance. But in the group there is a cow that is inferior to the cow that took the place of the leader, but prevails over the rest of the cows. She will take second place in the group. Then there is a third-ranked cow, and so on. Thus, a hierarchical distribution occurs in the group, that is, a peculiar order is established in which each cow knows her rank and does not try to come into conflict with a cow of a higher rank. The skirmishes stop, and the animals feel calm. The smaller the group, the faster the hierarchical distribution will occur in it. But while it is happening, some cows experience a state of mental stress, which causes a sharp decrease in productivity. In a particularly difficult situation are cows with a weak type of nervous activity, timid and fearful, occupying the lowest rank. The inclusion of new cows in the group violates the existing distribution. Conflicts arise again.

With a high placement density, when there are not enough places to rest, the feeding front is very small, even with an established hierarchical distribution, the situation of low-ranking cows remains difficult. Studies have shown that these cows spend less time eating and resting than higher-ranking cows. The difference in the duration of Rest between cows of high and low rank reaches 2.5 hours.

As a rule, cows with a weak type of nervous activity, as well as those that are too aggressive, are unsuitable for loose housing. Therefore, the culling rate is high here. Hierarchical distribution is typical not only for cows, but also for other farm animals. Therefore, groups should be as small as possible in size and constant in composition.

On farms, several methods of keeping cattle are practiced. The method of keeping is selected not only based on the personal preferences of the farmer, but also on the possibilities of the farm area, livestock, as well as the goals set.

Tethered content cows

When tethered, cows are kept in stalls and on a leash. As a leash, special belts, chains and ropes are used. When kept on a leash, the size of the stall for cattle depends on the type and purpose of the animals. The minimum size of a stall for cows is 1.7 by 1.1 meters; for breeding animals, the dimensions of the stall should be more than 2 m by 1.2 m. The stall for bulls is also made larger: 2.2 by 1.6 m. For bulls and heifers, you can use stalls measuring 1.1 by 1.5 m.

The stall keeping of cows is a rather laborious process, especially when milking in the milking parlour.

Each cow must be untied, taken to the hall, brought back to the stall and tied. Many farmers use milking in stalls with this method of keeping. The disadvantage of this method is that the lack of movement adversely affects the health of animals.

Typically, tethered stall housing is used in barns designed for 100 or 200 head, with two or four rows of stalls. Stall equipment for tethered content is made of durable metal pipes. Modern modules are equipped with upper adjustable shoulder restraints. This design provides a more comfortable and safe position for cows. Each stall has an autodrinker and a feeder.

In some models of stall equipment, a group leash is provided. The main advantage of the stall content is the convenience of veterinary control.

Loose keeping of cows

Loose keeping of cattle is a more efficient method that allows you to mechanize many processes, reduce manual labor, but requires more space. This method allows you to keep cows in separate stalls, with an area of about 2 square meters, or one livestock pen is organized, in which a group of cows is kept. This method is very similar to keeping cows in a barn, where they are left to their own devices. Loose housing allows cows to move more.

Stall equipment for free-standing housing is produced in the form of sections.

The boxes are separated by metal pipes, and the size of each box or section allows the cow to lie down calmly. In loose housing, milking is usually done in milking parlors where cows are run in groups. Animals similar in terms of milk production and milk flow rate are selected in the group.

Advantages of this method: cheaper construction, mechanization of feeding, easier cleaning. Cons: feed consumption increases by about 17%, as well as bedding costs.

With this method of keeping cows, they need a very deep litter of large sawdust or pressed straw.

Cold keeping cows

Cold keeping of cattle is a modern and more economical way of breeding cattle in rooms without heating. With the cold method, only feeders with drinkers and milking equipment are needed from equipment for cattle. The main condition for the success of this method is good ventilation of the room. In winter, the air must be completely renewed every 15 minutes, and in summer, constant circulation of fresh air is required. The volume of air supply should be more than fifteen cubic meters per hour for every hundred kilograms of live weight of cows.

The best way to organize air exchange is natural exhaust. To do this, a long dormer window is made in the ceiling, as well as wide windows in the walls and cornices. Such a system does not depend on electricity, nor does it depend on forced air circulation.

Another feature of this method is the content of cows without a leash and on a deep litter.

Loose housing of cows on a deep litter requires at least eight square meters. area for each animal. Therefore, the room and the corral for livestock should be spacious enough. In winter, the minimum thickness of bedding material should be at least 65 cm. It is recommended to use dried peat or straw. They absorb moisture and odors well. In severe frosts, the height of the litter is increased, and the animals are transferred to enhanced nutrition.

Pasture methods of keeping cows

The productivity of cows directly depends on the method of keeping, proper milking, feeding and sufficient exercise. Features of keeping cattle largely depend on natural conditions. In warm and temperate climates, combined methods of keeping dairy cows have proven themselves well:

stall-pasture,
Stall-walking,
Flow-shop.
stall-pasture

This method involves keeping the cows all the warm season on the pasture, and the cold months - in the stalls. On grazing cows are provided with good and sufficient movement, an abundance of juicy food and fresh air. Grass, rich in proteins, vitamins and various minerals, has a good effect on the health and performance of animals. With prolonged grazing, the body of the animal is completely restored after the winter.

If the winters are warm and with little snow, then for this method of keeping a small street corral for livestock is equipped. In good weather, animals can spend several hours in it. A big plus of this method is a reduction in labor costs in the summer, a reduction in the cost of bedding material and feed.

In summer, the barn "rests" and dries out, it can be well ventilated, completely disinfected, repaired and updated.

Stall-walking method

This method of keeping cows is used on large farms, with a livestock of 600 heads. It is very popular in limited pasture space in temperate and warm climates. Cows are kept in stalls, and for daily walks and grazing they use a spacious corral for livestock. The corral is equipped with feeders and drinkers, where in the daytime the animals are fed with hay or haylage, mowed grass, silage. Instead of pastures for daily exercise, on cold days they use running corridors or special mechanical walkers.

With this method of keeping cows are milked according to a certain schedule, and one milking cycle is about four hours. The advantages of this method are the compactness of the area used. The downside is the need to comply with the rules of sanitation, otherwise, with a large population, mass epidemics and loss of livestock may begin.

Flow shop method

This method allows you to simplify the control over the reproduction of the herd and veterinary care. Feed is also used more rationally. With the flow-shop method, cows are kept both on a leash and without it, and the animals are divided into workshops:

Lactic,
dry,
Maternity.

From the dairy shop, pregnant cows go to the dry shop 70-60 days before birth, where they receive a balanced diet and the opportunity to rest. Long daily walks are a prerequisite for keeping in the maternity lab. Approximately one week before calving, the animals are transferred to the maternity shop, which consists of three sections:

Prenatal,
Generic,
Postpartum.

The calf is left with its mother for about five days. During this time, the calf is well uddered and feeds on its own colostrum. Then the calves are transferred to a dispensary, and two weeks later they are sent to a calf barn or put up for sale. Cows, after weaning the calf, are inseminated and sent back to the dairy shop.

split for cows

The split is a special and necessary machine for fixing an animal. It is needed for veterinary examination, treatment, hoof cleaning, sometimes milking and insemination. The average size is two meters long, one and a half wide, and about two meters high. Usually the split is stationary, but there are also collapsible models. A split is made of steel, less often - from a bar. Wooden splits are more commonly used on private farms, are easier to make yourself, but are less durable.

Making a split with your own hands is simple: you need to weld several pipes of the right size so that you get a rectangular corral. Then several longitudinal pipes are welded in the center for greater strength. One short wall is equipped with a door with a strong bolt. To fix the head, an arc-shaped neck clamp is usually used, which securely and safely fixes the neck. The legs in the split are fixed with ropes, belts or metal clips. It is recommended to provide for the possibility of fixing two additional belts passing under the belly of the cow. This may be needed to support and lift the cow.

The way animals are kept in industrial and private farms largely determines their productivity. And based on this, today many farmers are gradually moving from tethered to loose cattle housing, which has proven to be more productive in the US and European countries. But in order to draw specific conclusions for yourself, it is worth considering in more detail each of the methods and the advantages that they carry.

What is tethered and loose housing of cows?

A particular method of keeping is effective and entails a significant increase in livestock productivity only if a number of necessary additional factors contribute to this. These include the purpose of breeding, the food supply that is available, the area available, and the design features of the premises used.

Tethered content

This type of keeping cows is considered traditional in domestic open spaces. More than 90% of all farms sell it when raising cattle. Its essence lies in the fact that the cow is fixed in a specially erected stall for the period of milking or feeding with concentrates. In this case, this type of content can be manifested in three varieties:

Year-round stall.
A combination of tethered and walking.
Supplementing stall grazing on pastures in the summer.

The tethered keeping of dairy cows is most appropriate for breeding herds in which the livestock reaches 150-200 individuals. Animals are placed in a stall, the length of which is only slightly greater than the length of their body. At the end of the stall is a feeder and drinker. At the beginning, a conveyor is installed that implements the removal of feces. The animal is fixed, as a rule, due to a metal chain, the length of which provides free access to food and water, but excludes injuries between cows.

Milking of livestock is carried out using a portable milking machine. What is useful about this method is that it is possible to create an individual diet and conditions for each animal, focusing on its milk production and condition.

This method of keeping involves the free movement of animals around the barn and walking areas. This provides them with maximum physical activity. At the same time, feeding with green and succulent fodder is realized through a common feeder, which is located on the pasture. Milking is carried out in a specially dedicated milking parlor. The approximate size of pasture for livestock in this breeding option is at least 10 square meters. m for each individual. In this case, the entire area is lined with a hard surface.

The specifics of loose housing largely depends on the climatic conditions of the region. In cold areas, durable stationary cowsheds with sufficient area are used. At the same time, regular walks of animals are mandatory. In warmer climates, cows are kept in special rooms, in which, if necessary, the side walls open. Also, depending on the specific conditions, loose breeding is divided into two subspecies: the use of deep litter and the box version.

Loose housing of cows on deep litter involves the division of barns into three separate sections:

Pasture where animals are walked and fed.
The milking parlor, which houses the milking machines.
Separate section for rest.

The preparation of the premises for recreation is especially carefully approached. The floor in it is lined with a thick layer of straw or sawdust. On such a bed, as a result, the cow will sleep. Deep non-replaceable bedding allows animals to sleep in warmth all the time. The temperature in it during compression can reach up to 28 degrees. At the same time, the resting place is almost always clean.

Box content involves placing special boxes consisting of three walls in the rest section instead of a deep bedding. On the sides they are represented by thick wooden partitions, and a dividing wall is mounted in front. The area of such a stall is calculated based on the size and weight of the animal. The bottom of the box is lined with a small layer of straw, sawdust or special rubber mats.

Boxes with the back side go to the manure passage. At the same time, the length of such a building excludes the ingress of excrement into it, which ensures constant cleanliness in the resting place of the animal. Loose keeping of dairy cows in boxes allows reducing the daily consumption of straw from 3 kg (in the case of deep litter) to 1 kg. Feeding with succulent feed can also be carried out in the box. To do this, they are supplemented with conveyor feeders.

It should be noted that the homogeneity of the herd is an important point in the organization of loose housing. Animals on the basis of age, behavioral characteristics, productivity and other factors are collected in separate groups. Such groups are kept and walked separately from the rest.

Technology of milking in tie and loose housing

It should be noted that depending on the method of keeping animals used on the farm, the approach to milking livestock also differs. When tethered, milk is collected directly in the stall or in a specially designated milking room.

stall option

This approach to milk collection involves the use of portable milking machines, which are equipped with special milk pipes or buckets. In the first case, the milkmaid's efforts are spent more rationally, and she can milk up to 50 heads without much difficulty. The use of buckets is more labor-intensive and for the same period of time one person is able to milk about 30-40 cows.

In general, this method is justified by the fact that it is easier to reveal the productivity potential of each animal. In addition, a permanent place of keeping makes it easier to work with a cow. At the same time, milking at the resting place does not exclude the ingress of manure particles and dirt into the milk.

In the milking parlour.

This technology significantly saves time and implies a higher degree of automation. For milking the herd, a separate hall is allocated, in which a stationary milking machine of the Carousel, Tandem or similar type is mounted. At the time of milking, the animal is untied and transferred to a prepared room. The advantage of such devices is that they milk the cow as fully as possible.

Reference. When implementing this approach, the milkmaid is able to serve more than 100 cows at a time. In addition, at the entrance to the hall, you can install a special sink that will prevent manure from getting into the milk.

Milking in loose housing

In this case, milking is also carried out in a separate milking parlor. At the same time, it must be designed in such a way that a milked cow enters the rest section through a separate exit, without meeting with individuals that have not yet been milked.

It is necessary to plan the milking process in the hall so that all the cattle included in one group are milked in a period of time not exceeding 3.5 hours. For this purpose, both group stationary milking machines and individual machines can be used. Animals in loose housing are not recommended to be transferred frequently (more than 3 times) from group to group during the lactation period. Otherwise, the overall productivity of the cow may drop significantly.

The milking machine must be selected, taking into account the number of working operators, the size of the herd, the area of the hall. The best option in this regard is the Herringbone unit with group machines without partitions. UDA-12-24 devices are also often used. In such installations, two operators work at once, but the number of cows served increases depending on the model. UDA-8A is a simpler version of the milking unit, which can be easily used by one operator.

Stall dimensions for tie-down cows

When choosing a tethered livestock breeding method, it is important to create optimal conditions for this. An important parameter in this regard is the correct size of the stall. Ideally, it is determined on the basis of the oblique body length of the animal. This is the distance from the junction of the shoulder blade to the base of the tail. Further, 10 cm is added to this value. The result is the length of the stall. This type of machine is called short.

In domestic farms, it is traditionally customary to use universal long stalls, the length of which is 190-200 cm. As for the width of the pen, it depends on the weight of the cow and her condition. On average, the distance between the side dividers should be from 1.1 to 1.3 m. For cows that are 7 months pregnant, the width of the pen is increased to 1.5 m.

Characteristically, long stalls provide fairly free movement for the animal. But this is also the main disadvantage of this type of structures. A long paddock quickly becomes contaminated with manure, which means that it requires constant cleaning. Short stalls in the presence of limiters in the front part are practically not polluted.

Separators are most often made of metal pipes. A concrete feeder is installed behind the front partition. In order for the animal to have access to food even from a lying position, the frontal divider should not be made higher than 25 cm.

Advantages and disadvantages of methods

Considering in more detail the parameters of each of the content methods, it should be noted that each of them implies both its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of the tethered option are the following points:

An individual approach to feeding and caring for animals. This allows you to better develop the potential of the cow.
Ease of veterinary examination and general maintenance of the animal.
The possibility of unhindered joint keeping of cows, which differ in their behavior, productivity and age. Restriction of movement prevents them from injury.
Less space is required for content.

As for the disadvantages of this method, they should include the need for a large number of employees, huge labor costs on their part. In addition, it is extremely difficult to fully automate such an economy.

When organizing loose content, the following advantages of the method are distinguished:

The possibility of maximum mechanization of the farm, as a result of which the required staff of working personnel is reduced.
Taking care of animals requires less effort and time.
High activity and the most natural vital activity of animals presuppose the development of stable immunity and general health promotion.
High-quality exercise, in turn, significantly increases the dairy productivity of livestock.

The disadvantages of this method include the following points:

Complication of the work of a veterinarian and livestock specialist. A sick cow is much more difficult to identify in the general mass.
The impossibility of organizing an individual diet for each cow.

In addition, the transition to loose housing of cows is also complicated by the fact that there are no specialists in this field in the domestic open spaces. This method is just beginning to gain popularity in our country. Accordingly, it is accompanied by a lack of practical experience. And non-compliance with the key points of maintenance, in turn, can lead to a violation of general sanitary conditions and the development of diseases.

Conclusion

Each of these methods of cattle breeding deserves the right to exist. Choosing the most suitable, the breeder must focus on the resources that are available. And yet, if loose housing is implemented qualitatively, the milk yield of cows on the farm can be increased significantly.

Mishkhozhev Azamat Aslanbievich, master, assistant
Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University named after V. M. Kokov

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Cattle - cows, bulls and young calves - are common inhabitants of any barnyard, the maintenance of which, as well as the purchase, is not at all as cheap as many farmers would like. And yet, the effectiveness of both domestic and industrial breeding of cattle directly depends on the content, which should take into account the biological and physical characteristics of the animal in order to direct its development in the right direction for a person. Both of these methods have a very beneficial effect on the overall development of livestock, their achievement of the desired weight, and therefore deserve special attention.

Analysis of the Importance of Milk Proteins in Farm Animal Breeding
Genetic structure of beef cattle breeds according to milk proteins
Features of adaptation of imported highly productive cattle of dairy breeds of different genotypes
Descriptions and characteristics of some breeds of cattle

Loose keeping of cattle

Figure 1. Loose Content

Free-stall cow housing is more suitable for dairy breeds, as it involves housing animals in large barns without stalls, where they can move freely without harming themselves or other animals. This method of keeping is most suitable for young non-milking cows and small calves, since it allows them not only to rest in the stall, gaining weight, but also work up an appetite, moving around almost the entire room. Loose housing is the best in terms of saving space, money to buy equipment and workers who could tie them to the pegs at the stall every day after the cows come from the pasture. In addition, with loose housing, it is possible to place more cows on the same area than when keeping them in stalls.

The advantages of loose housing are obvious, since they eliminate the need for individual distribution of food, mechanizing this process and thereby facilitating work and saving some money that could be spent on buying food or other primary needs.

The floor in a barn intended for loose housing should be covered with straw in several layers. The litter should be deep enough and non-replaceable, which will not allow animals not only to catch a cold, but also injure their hooves on hard objects. Initially, the floor is covered with a very small layer of straw, adding new layers to it as the previous ones get dirty. Such manipulations make it possible to keep air suitable for cows in the room, in addition, a thick layer of straw makes the floor soft and more suitable for cows.

Loose housing is sometimes called box housing, which is associated with the arrangement of special boxes on large farms, in which the cows, in fact, are located. Boxing is equipped directly in the machine itself and is intended exclusively for recreation. Basically, boxes are used to keep young calves who cannot and do not understand how to maintain personal hygiene. The ratio of the box to the machine should be the same. The presence of the box provides the animal with constant dry bedding and food not contaminated with straw from the floor. The floor of the box should be strewn with a thick layer of clay interspersed with earth, well compacted and only then covered with a small layer of straw, sawdust, or chaff. It is best if the floor is curved with a slope to one side, where urine and liquid feces of the animal could drain.

Usually, wooden beams and boards are used to build boxes, but with metal nets and stakes, you can also build a good box. For calves under one year of age, the size of the box should not be less than 2 square meters; as the animal grows, the box is expanded, removing unnecessary partitions and any objects that interfere with expansion.

Loose livestock is practiced on large cattle farms, where it is simply not possible to keep track of every cow, bull, or calf. Mature calves are transferred from boxes to pens and begin to fatten them, keeping mostly on the street.

Tethered keeping of cows

Figure 2. Tethered content

The tethered keeping of cattle provides for the presence in the barn of many stalls into which cows are driven in the dark and cold hours of the day. Cows in the stalls are necessarily in a tied state, which is due to the agricultural orientation of the animals. Tethered housing is mainly used in small individual farms where cattle are bred for meat and, therefore, their physical activity must be slowed down in order to maintain the accumulated weight.

The length of the stall for young cows and bulls under the age of 1 year cannot be less than 1.5 meters, and the width should reach 0.8 meters. A stall for an adult animal must be at least 2 meters long and 1 meter wide. In principle, the size of the stall depends on the size of the cow, so the ideal option is to equip mobile stalls that can both expand and contract. Naturally, when buying a ready-made farm of an old Soviet construction, you don’t even have to think about such a luxury, but old farms have an advantage in the form of a fortress of walls, ceilings and floors, which is important when cows are constantly or partially tethered in a barn.

It should be noted that the practice of tying cows is necessary not only to restrict their movement, but also to ensure the safety of the cows themselves, who, following animal instincts, can suddenly rebel.

Cows are tied up in the stall easily, without wasting time inventing various knots, but bulls must be tied not with ropes, but with thick chains, designed to restrain an animal that has suddenly fallen into a rage.

In addition, tethering cows allows them to be fed individually, based on age, weight and current state of affairs - pregnancy and the like. Calves are fed with milk up to one year of age, therefore the rest of the cattle should be limited from its simultaneous consumption with them, which actually distinguishes tethered housing from any other.

One of the forms of tethered keeping of cows is considered to be stall-walking keeping, in which cows can stay in stalls day and night, where they receive all the feed they need, but at the same time they are driven out into the fresh air every day for a long run for a distance of at least three kilometers, which it is necessary for them to work up their appetite and improve their general condition. Walking cows does not include herding - most farmers simply chase animals around the farm, which is also very productive. Stall-range maintenance is beneficial in the case of a limited area of the farm and the absence of a free field where it would be possible to equip a paddock or organize grazing.

In principle, any method of keeping is suitable for dairy cows, since with proper feeding they are able, both while in stalls and constantly receiving an addition to their usual diet in the form of pasture, to give up to 4 thousand liters of milk per year.

Figure 3. Keeping young animals

Young calves, both future dairy cows and bulls, are placed together in the same paddock, practicing loose housing, which reduces the risk of a possible strangulation of a calf with a tight rope when it tries to get out of the stall. Young animals are kept exclusively on a thick, non-replaceable litter, they are fed, if we are talking about meat breeds, by simply admitting them to cows for several hours a day. Young dairy cows are artificially fed, doing this work manually from a bottle, if we are talking about a very small calf.

Starting from 2-3 weeks of life, young calves are driven out to pasture, or to a paddock, where they can freely breathe fresh air and gradually get used to foraging on their own. The accustoming of calves to roughage, including hay, begins on the 2nd week of their life, but milk, if available on the farm, does not stop being fed until they reach one year of age.

Young animals are kept away from other animals, which is necessary, first of all, to organize the proper nutrition of calves, as well as to protect them from possible negative effects from adult animals.

Room for a bull for fattening

Gobies are fattened for meat in special fatteners designed to provide the economy with a large amount of meat in the shortest possible time. Thanks to the fattener, farmers manage to fatten a one-year-old bull to a weight of 450 kilograms, which is not at all easy to achieve under normal conditions.

Both young and adult animals are suitable for fattening. Fattening is considered excessive feeding of animals, the result of which should be the accumulation in the body of the animal of proteins, fats and other useful elements that contribute to increased growth and accumulation of the muscle mass of livestock.

The finisher provides for stall maintenance, the fence of the finisher should be made of large thick pipes. The size of the finisher should be sufficient to accommodate at least 10-15 animals at a time. The area of the fattener depends on the age of the bulls, the main thing is not to allow excessive crowding of animals, as this can affect their health and further weight gain. Usually, galvanized or steel pipe is used as materials for the manufacture of a fattening box. Wood and other materials are not strong enough to keep bulls.

The floor in the fattener should be clay or earthen, it is not recommended to fill the floor with concrete, or it is not recommended to make a cement screed, since the bulls cannot be on their feet all the time, lying down on a cold floor, even if it is covered with a thick layer of straw, they can catch a cold and become seriously ill. Treatment of sick cattle is, of course, possible, but during the time spent on medical procedures, bulls can lose their fatness and become unsuitable for further fattening. In some cases, for example, when growing a bull in a home fattener, a wooden floor is allowed, also covered with a lot of straw.

If it is planned to contain only one animal in the finisher, then its size must be reduced to a minimum sufficient for the bull to lie freely on the floor, but not sufficient for the bull to move freely around the cage. The smaller the fattener, the more weight the bull will be able to gain, since all the energy that he can be expended on movement is spent on building muscle and meat. The bull, limited in movement, quickly reaches the desired weight.

Bibliography

Mishkhozhev A.A. 2016. V. 1. No. 44. S. 52-61
Mishkhozhev A.A. 2016. Vol. 2. No. 44. P. 83-90.
Mishkhozhev A.A. 2016. Vol. 1. No. 46. P. 61-64.

Currently, dairy complexes and large farms are increasingly introducing loose housing of cows. This method, in comparison with the tethered method, can significantly increase the load of animals on the attendants and increase labor productivity.

It should be noted that the advantages of loose housing of cows are realized only if the farm has a strong forage base.

At loose livestock the motor activity of animals increases, their individual behavioral characteristics are more fully realized, and reactions to feed consumption are more pronounced. But these advantages are not always adequate to the level of animal productivity, so the feed consumption per unit of milk produced increases by 10-15%.

With loose housing cows, the homogeneity of the herd in terms of animal development, productivity, suitability for machine milking, behavior, etc., is of great importance.

Depending on the characteristics of the farm and the zone, two main methods of loose keeping of cows are used: on deep litter (with a consumption of about 3 kg of straw per head per day) and in boxes.

For the first time loose housing of cows on a deep litter was used in the experimental farm "Kutuzovka" in the Kharkov region. In this farm, for 15 years of keeping 1000 cows on deep litter, the average annual milk yield per cow increased from 1830 to 4000 kg. Labor costs here for the production of 1 quintal of milk amounted to 1.8 man-hours.

In the experimental farm "Kutuzovka" they feed, milk and organize the rest of animals, as it were, in separate workshops. This allows you to apply the most advanced technical means and organizational solutions to perform all types of work on a dairy farm. Cows are milked here in a special milking parlor with the help of herringbone-type units for 72 places, animals are fed on hard-surface walking and fodder areas equipped with sheds for storing roughage. Animals rest in sections on a deep litter. Sections are completed with cows, taking into account the period of lactation and pregnancy. Each section for 100 cows has access to a walking area.

With such a content, it is possible to normalize the supply of succulent feed, in particular root crops, and partially concentrated by groups of cows kept in one section, taking into account their productivity and physiological state. Some of the concentrates are fed during milking. Distribute succulent feed by mobile means. Straw bedding is stored in bales in the attic. Systematically, the floor in the sections for resting animals is covered with bedding by hand. Remove manure from sections 1-2 times a year with a bulldozer. Manure from walking areas is removed by a bulldozer every 2-3 days and taken to the manure storage.

Loose keeping of cows on deep litter, they are used in the Berezanskoye experimental farm in the Krasnodar Territory and in a number of other farms.

The positive aspects of keeping animals on deep litter are as follows: 1) with a sufficient amount of litter, the animals are clean, their bed is soft and warm; 2) thanks to the removal of manure once a year by a tractor, manual labor is completely eliminated when performing this operation; 3) high quality manure is supplied to the fields; 4) the need for manure storages is reduced, since they receive manure only from walking areas.

Three tractor drivers are assigned to a farm for 1000-1200 cows, whose duties include distributing feed and cleaning manure from walking areas. Loose housing of cows on deep litter can already be profitable at average milk yields of about 3000 kg per cow in farms with 800-1200 cows.

Loose housing of cows in boxes can differ in the method of manure removal, mechanization of cow milking and distribution of feed, feeding regime, etc.