Dairy Housing and Equipment

1. Dairy Housing and Equipment Chapter 45

2. Objectives • Explain housing needs of dairy cattle • Discuss the economics of dairy cattle housing and equipment • Describe milking equipment • Describe milk handling systems • Describe manure handling systems

3. Planning the Dairy Facility • Modern dairy farm requires a high investment in buildings and equipment • Important considerations when planning are • Efficiency • Economy • Convenience

4. Planning the Dairy Facility (cont.) • Location of the Facility • Well-drained area • Easy access for vehicles • Good water supply • Room for expansion • Locate downwind from farmhouse • Avoid location that will cause odor problems for neighbors

5. Planning the Dairy Facility (cont.) • Electrical Service • Dairy farms require continuous supply of electricity • Ensure power is adequate to meet needs of operation • Standby generators are essential

6. Housing for the Milking Herd • Two most common types of housing • Stall Barns (Stanchion) • Used in dairies with up to 80 cows • Free Stall Barns • Used in dairies with more than 80 cows

7. Housing for the Milking Herd (cont.) • Stall Barns (Stanchions) • Each cow is confined to an individual stall • Stanchions have metal yokes that are fastened at the top and bottom • Tie stalls give greater comfort to the cow • Allow more individual attention to each cow • Easier to observe and treat each cow

8. Housing for the Milking Herd (cont.) • Stall Barns (Stanchions) (cont.) • Better display of breeding stock • Stalls must be long enough for cows to lie down with their udders on the platform • Most udder injuries occur in small stalls • Have cows face out

9. Housing for the Milking Herd (cont.) • Stall Barns (Stanchions) (cont.)

10. Housing for the Milking Herd (cont.) • Remodeling • Older barns may require remodeling to improve stall sizes, reduce labor costs • Some older barns not worth remodeling • Decision to remodel, or build new is individual decision that must be evaluated • Ensure proper size, ventilation

11. Housing for the Milking Herd (cont.) • Free Stall Barns • A loose housing system in which stalls are provided for the cows • The cows are not fastened in the stalls • They may enter, leave stalls as they please • Current practice allows 10 percent more cows in the area than there are stalls

12. Housing for the Milking Herd (cont.) • Free Stall Barns (cont.) • Floors of stalls may be earth or concrete • Manure must be removed from stalls daily • Free stall barns usually have two, three, or four alleys • Manure handling requires more daily labor

13. Housing for the Milking Herd (cont.) • Free Stall Barns (cont.)

14. Milking in Stall Barns • Three types of milking equipment used • Pail milkers • Suspension milkers • Pipeline milkers

15. Milking in Stall Barns (cont.) • Pail Milkers • Set on floor beside cow • Milker claw is attached to udder • Emptied by hand after each milking • Suspension Milkers • Hung from a strap, placed over back of cow • Operated by vacuum pump

16. Milking in Stall Barns (cont.) • Pipeline Milkers • More expensive than pail or suspension • More vacuum required for operation • Less labor required • Milk can be kept cleaner when a pipeline milker is used

17. Milking Parlors • A milking parlor consists of a separate area in which the cows are milked • More common in free stall barns • Milking parlors can reduce labor and stooping needed to milk cows • They require a high investment, though total costs lower than stall barns

18. Milking Parlors (cont.) • Four types of milking parlors • Herringbone • Side-opening • Rotary or carousel • Polygon

19. Milking Parlors (cont.) • Herringbone • Most common • Cows stand at angle to operator pit • Side-opening • Cows stand parallel to operator pit • Most common sizes are two, three, or four milking stalls on each side of operator pit

20. Milking Parlors (cont.) • Rotary or Carousel • Cows enter a slow rotating platform • Cows stand parallel to operator pit, or in a herringbone pattern • Polygon • Herringbone arrangement on four sides of operator pit • Higher capacity

21. Mechanization in the Milking Parlor • A number of ways to increase mechanization include • Crowding gates • Power gates • Feed gates • Prep stalls • Automatic detaching units

22. Holding Area • Area where cows are held before milking • Long, narrow area is best • Cows should not be left in holding area for more than 2 hours • Ensure proper ventilation • Clean after each milking

23. Milk House • Contains the equipment for filtering, cooling, and storing milk • Size depends on size of the herd, type of equipment used • Locate on side of barn away from cow pens or holding areas • Ensure proper temperature, ventilation

24. Bulk Tanks • Stainless steel tanks, where the milk is cooled and stored • Consider future herd expansion when making a bulk tank purchase • Must be capable of quickly cooling milk to meet local Grade A production requirements

25. Stray Voltage • Stray electrical current can cause problems in dairy facilities • May originate on or off farm • Work with local power utilities to identify source of stray current, correct problem • Properly bond all metal parts of facility

26. Milking Equipment • The four parts of a milking system are • Milking unit • Pulsation system • Vacuum supply system • Milk flow system

27. Housing for Dairy Herd Replacements • Calves up to 2 months of age • Young calves can be housed in calf hutches • Calf hutches are less expensive and produce same growing ability • Place the calf in the hutch as soon as it is dry after it is born

28. Housing for Dairy Herd Replacements (cont.) • Heifers from 2 Months to Calving • Can be kept in cold housing • Kept in pens or free stall • In warm weather, can be kept on pasture

29. Manure Handling • Manure may be handled in either a solid or liquid form • Liquid manure usually contains less than 15 percent solid material • Solid manure contains more than 20 percent solid material • Manure must be hauled every day

30. Feed Handling • Feeding facilities used for dairy cattle are similar to those used for beef cattle • Equipment required • Silos • Feed bunks • Waterers • Other