Example 2
Cubicle housing for 60 dairy cows and
young stock
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60 dairy cows
Young stock (heifers)
Cubicle housing
Alleys with slated floors
Mattresses in cubicles
Common feed alley
Dairy cows on one side of the feed
alley, young stock on the other
Natural ventilation
Uninsulated building
Calving pen with litter
2 x 7 herringbone milking parlor
Function and design
Three row housing system with cubicles.
There is a drive thru feed alley for distribution of feed e.g. means of tractor, mini loader
or similar. On one side of the feed alley there
are two single rows of cubicles for lactating
cows. Dry cows and heifers are placed in one
row of cubicles on the other side.
red with straw. A small area for storage of
straw is placed next to the calving pen.
10 individual pens are used for both heifers and bull calves up to 8 weeks old.
These are placed close to the milking parlour and the calving pens so it requires less
work to feed milk. The individual pens are
placed in a separate room limited with
three solid walls and gates on the last side
to avoid draught on the calves.
Heifer calves from 8 weeks to 6 month are
in two joint pens with deep litter and short
non-littered feeding area. Young stock (heifers) above 6 month of age is housed in
joint pens with cubicles.
Cubicles for young stock are dimensioned
in four different sizes, which are 200 kg,
300 kg, 400 kg and 500 kg. There are 11,
15, 12 and 10 stalls in weight each group.
Manure from cows and young stock is
handled as slurry in manure channels covered with slats.
There are two single calving pens with the
size of app. 12 m2 each. The pens are litte-
Cubicles with low front rail.
Individual pens for calves.
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Cubicle housing for 60
dairy cows and young stock
Man hole with boot wash
Dry cows are placed in the same side as
young stock. It is possible to split the 8
stalls for dry cows into two dry cow
groups.
There is at least one feeding place per animal on both side of the feeding alley so all
animals can feed at one time.
Milking is carried pout in a 2x7 herringbone milking parlour. There is adjustable
floor in the operator pit in the milking parlour. The walking area between the two
rows of cubicles serves as holding area.
A double hoof bath is established in the return alley with pure water in the first bath
and a disinfection agent in the next bath.
The milk storage room is equipped with a
4000 litres bulk milk tank that can contain the milk from 2 days production from
a high yielding herd. There is a separate
room for technical equipment such as comp ressor, vacuum pump.
In connection with the milk storage room,
there is also a room for storage and one
for equipment and a office.
Area consumption
The total building area is 1340 m2, and the
feed alley requires 251 m2 of them.
Herringbone milking parlor.
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Example 2
Adjustable curtains.
Net areas for resting and walking areas:
• 8,5 m2 per lactating cow which gives a
total of 517 m2
• 5,5 m2 per animal in average in the area
for dry cows and young stock which gives a total of 367 m2
Floors
All floors in feeding and walking areas are
slatted floors. Slatted floors are with 120
millimetre wide walking surfaces and 35
millimetre wide slots.
The cubicles have solid floor of concrete
covered with mattreses.
Equipment
Self locking feeding barriers are placed by
the lactating cows. The barriers are placed
at an angle of 20° to vertical.
Self locking feeding barriers are placed in
the section with dry cows and the three
groups with heifers dimensioned for 300500 kg. The younger groups have front
barriers with adjustable neck rail. The lowest part of the feeding barrier is solid, to
avoid feed being drawn into the pens.
Open front gate in the calving pen.
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Cubicle partitions ends 0.30 metres from
the rear kerb of the cubicle to prevent the
animals, walking in the alley behind the
cubicles, from getting injured. The partitions are with a low front rail.
There are gates in the feed barrier to all
the groups of young stock, dry cows and
calving pens.
Water supply
Water troughs are placed in the cross
alleys by the dairy cow group. There are 6
troughs of 2.00 metres and with a width
of 0.45 metres.
Water troughs are placed next to the
feeding barrier and between the groups in
the side with dry cows and heifers. Water
troughs there are 2.00 metres long, so
1.00 metre is available in each group.
Feeding
A total mixed ration is distributed by a
tractor driven mixer wagon.
Manure handling system
Manure is handled as slurry in the slurry
channels. It is a slurry circuit system with a
propeller mixer situated outside the
building in a mixer pit. The slurry pump is
Cubicle housing for 60
dairy cows and young stock
Building design and construction
Water trough
placed in the
side
partitions
between two
boxes.
also situated in the pit. The slurry is mixed
ones daily to keep it floating.
Litter handling
The stalls is littered daily with at least 0.3
kg of straw to keep them clean and dry.
Ventilation
The building is natural ventilated. In the
sides there is adjustable curtains, and in
the roof ridge there is an open roof ridge
covered with light plates and air outlets in
both side.
Light
The light in the whole housing is
dimensioned to 100 lux at floor level, and
can then manual be adjusted to 5 lux
during the night. The penetration of
natural light through the sides and roof
will normally give appropriate working
light during daylight.
In the milking parlour, in the calving pens
and in the individual boxes for calves the
light is dimensioned to 200 lux.
Tractor with TMR feed
mixer.
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Example 2
Building design and
construction
Load-bearing structure
The load-bearing structure is divided into
two main structures. The first is steel frames that support the roof. The steel frames are supported on spot foundations in
both sides. The second part is the foundation that carries the load of the walls.
Foundation
Continuous strip foundation of concrete
under external, internal and partition
walls. To secure against penetration of
moisture or water both from the ground
and the housing it is necessary to make an
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insulation of tarpaper laid in two layers on
asphalt pitch. The foundation is protected
against moisture penetration with a leak
stopping agent on the outer side.
Manure channels
Slurry channels are made of 25 MPa concrete, at a depth of 120 centimetres. The sides and bottom are reinforced. The inside
surface of all slurry channels is coated –the
bottom as well as the sides – with a leak
stopping agent. The slatted floors are prefabricated elements.
Floors
All floor constructions consist of a minimum of 150 mm non-capillary layer (to pre-
Cubicle housing for 60
dairy cows and young stock
Building design and construction
vent capillary action) as well as 120 mm
concrete 20-25 MPa. All floors are reinforced with steel mesh to prevent contraction
cracks.
Walls
Both external walls and interior partition
walls are made of 180 mm light concrete
elements. The walls in the areas with animals consist of light concrete elements the
first 1,2 metres above ground level and
then adjustable curtains in a height of 2.0
metres. There are windows in the walls in
the service rooms.
Gables
Both gables are made of 180 mm light concrete elements in the height of 3,20 met res. Trapezoid steal plates are used in the
rest of the height up to the roof.
Roof and ceiling
The roof is covered with roofplates of fiber-cement and placed on purlins. In each
side of the roof is one row of transparent
plates to increase natural light penetration
into the building.
There is an insulated roof over the milking
parlor and service areas.
The inner surfaces of the building are
plastered and edges are rounded off.
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Example 2
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Cubicle housing for 60
dairy cows and young stock
Building design and construction
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Example 2
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Cubicle housing for 60
dairy cows and young stock
Building design and construction
Detail C
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Example 2
Plan drawing (1:200) - slorry circuit system
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Cubicle housing for 60
dairy cows and young stock
Building design and construction
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