6 | Straw yards
Figure 6.a – Straw yard housing system, with central
Requirements
drive-through feed passage. Suitable to house 48
• There should be enough room for all the
of 10m2/cow.
cows per yard. 96 cows in total with a bedded area
animals in the management group to lie
down and move around freely
32.4m
• Where feed and water troughs are
accessible from the bedded area,
determine the shape of the yard. While the shape of
a successful yard can vary to some extent, the shape
5.2m 4.6m
4.6m 5.2m
8.7m
will affect the space available for the cows. Since
cows prefer to lie down along the peripheral walls of
straw yards, a rectangular yard is considered a better
shape than a square yard.
The distance from the bedded yard to the feed area
8.7m
55.1m
water trough
One of the first considerations with a straw yard is to
Straw Yard
6.1 Shape of the yard
Straw Yard
reduce fouling.
passage
feed
through
drive
Central
passage
feed
through
drive
Central
measures should be put in place to
55.1m long (9 x 6.096m bays)
should be as short and direct as possible. The distance
from the feeding passage to the back wall of a straw
yard should not exceed 10m. This minimises the risk of
animals treading on each other as they exit the yard.
Example layouts of straw yard designs are illustrated
as Figure 6.a and 6.b.
Larger scale versions of each layout are included at
Appendix 1.
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Dairy housing - a best practice guide
6 | Straw yards
Figure 6.b – Straw yard housing system, with outdoor
perimeter feeding. Suitable to house 51 cows per yard.
102 cows in total with a bedded area of 10m2/cow.
6.3 Feed stance/loafing area
Any housing system based on straw yards must
provide a concrete area for loafing and feeding. This
helps promote hoof wear to prevent feet becoming
30.0m
overgrown.
The loafing area should be at least 3.0m2/cow and
it is important to ensure that there is ready access to
4.6m
8.4m
8.4m
exits or, preferably, unhindered access. If the loafing
area also serves as a feed passage, the minimum
width of the feed passage should be 4.6m. This allows
61.2m
cows uninterrupted feeding, while animals are moving
around behind them. The loafing area should be
scraped at least twice each day to reduce faecal
soiling of the feet.
water trough
2m overhang over outside feeding
Straw Yard
Straw Yard
2m overhang over outside feeding
the loafing area from the straw yard through multiple
4.6m
61.2m long (10 x 6.096m bays)
The floor surface on the feed stance and loafing area
should be well drained, easy to clean and non-slip.
6.4 Access from the straw yards
There should be unhindered access from the straw
yard to the feeding and loafing area to prevent the
6.2 Bedded area
space allowances
The space allowance required for each cow will
determine the stocking rate of the yard.
!
development of soiled areas. If access is restricted,
localised areas around gateways become very dirty
and wet, reducing the available bedding area for cows
to lie and increasing the risk of mastitis.
A step should be provided between the feeding and
loafing area and the straw beds. This will help retain
the bedding and prevent the ingress of faeces and
Think about
urine into the beds which can lead to contamination
and soiling. A solid barrier also provides a straight
To achieve optimal straw yard design
edge to scrape against when cleaning out the loafing
(rectangular in shape with more than 3.0m2/
area. The height of the barrier will depend on the
cow loafing and feeding area and not more
frequency in which the beds are cleaned out but it is
than 10.0m in depth), a lying area of at
likely to be around 0.2m.
least 7.5m /cow is recommended. If the bed
2
is deeper than 10.0m or the design of the
yards is compromised with poor access or
ventilation, the lying area should be increased
to at least 9.5m2/cow.
!
Think about
It is important to be able to close off the
bedded area to keep the cows on their feet
after milking, for a minimum of 30 minutes
The example layouts use a bedded area of 10.0m2/
cow.
Dairy housing - a best practice guide
to allow the teat orifice to close. This reduces
the opportunity for mastitis pathogens to enter
the open teat canal.
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6 | Straw yards
This can be achieved by the use of an electric fence,
tensioned wire or sections of fixed barriers and gates.
Access to and from the yards for machinery should
be carefully considered, as regular vehicular access
will be required to carry out tasks such as feeding,
bedding down and mucking out.
6.5 Location of water troughs
Water troughs should be located so that it is not
possible for cows to drink while standing on the bedded
area. This will either mean locating the trough in the
feed fence (which can create problems with feed
contaminating the trough or on the edge of the bedded
yard but protected by a block wall, or similar). The
trough should not protrude into the passageway as this
will affect the ability to scrape the area completely.
Further reading
• BS5502:40 (2005). Buildings and
structures for Agriculture – Code of
Practice for design and construction of
cattle buildings.
• Galindo, F. 2000. The Relationship
between Social Behaviour of Dairy
Cows and the Occurrence of lameness
in three herds. Res. Vet. Sci. 69: 75-79.
• Miller, K. and Wood-Gush, D.G.M.
(1991). Some Effects of Housing on the
Social Behaviour of Dairy Cows. Animal
Production. 53:271-278.
• Peeler, E.J. 2000. Risk Factors
Associated with Clinical Mastitis in Low
Somatic Cell Count British Dairy Herds.
J.Dairy Sci. 83: 2464-2472.
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Dairy housing - a best practice guide