A large part of the life of cattle (hereinafter referred to as cattle) is spent in the barn, therefore, the process of its construction must be approached very responsibly. How to build a do-it-yourself shed for bulls and cows, we will discuss this article.

General principles for the construction of a barn

Before starting construction, you will need to take into account some rules, namely:

• the location of the building is chosen taking into account the wind rose;
• the future farm should not be near residential premises and water sources;
• the material is chosen high-quality, safe, with high rates of thermal insulation;
• the project is made taking into account heating, ventilation and lighting;
• the size of the room should correspond to the needs of the animal, any movement should not cause difficulties.

Did you know? On the skin of the nose of reproaches are lines so similar to the pattern of human palms. They are neither unique, nor prints, and are never repeated.

Choosing a place for a barn

According to sanitary standards, the room where the cattle will be kept should be located at a distance of not less than 15 m from other buildings. The nearest source of drinking water should be at least 20 m and closer to the plantings. This will contribute to fertilizer.

Determine the size

For a full life, the animals in the barn should be provided with free access to all devices. Nothing should stop them from lying on the floor.

Read also about how to build a farm for cattle.

To calculate the area of ​​the barn (despite the fact that you will have 5 goals, 10, 20, 50 or 100), use the following standards:

• for an adult cow - 20 sq.m .;
• for a calf - 10 sq.m .;
• for an adult bull - 12 sq.m.

Known standards are multiplied by the number of goals and get the total area of ​​the future structure.

How to build a barn with your own hands

To build a room for cattle in accordance with all the rules, you need to know exactly which functional areas must be present.

Allocate such:

• stall;
• “Feed kitchen”;
• a place for collecting manure;
• territory for walking;
• maternity hospital;
• a boiler room;
• place of storage of milk;
• inventory.

For construction, you need to have a certain building material:

• crushed stone;
• foam block, brick or shell rock;
• concrete;
• roofing material or any other waterproofing material;
• boards;
• slate or tile.

Foundation

Regardless of the size of the future livestock, the building needs a strong foundation. It is laid out from a brick, which is fastened with concrete or poured directly from concrete. The correct foundation should go into the ground at least 50 cm. To prevent moisture from entering the future room, waterproof material must be laid on top of it.

Floor and gutter

Proper flooring is very important. Prerequisite: it must be warm. Boards are selected whose thickness is 5 cm. This material is short-lived and after 5 years it needs to be replaced, as it loses its qualities and absorbs stool odors, increasing the level of ammonia in the room. If you make concrete floors, you have to take care of the warm litter. They will last up to 15 years.

In the lower part, a drainage ditch is made into which a shovel is easily placed. The ditch should be of the following dimensions: depth 15 cm and width 30 cm. The drain should go beyond the main structure and be stored in a tank.

Important! They make floors at a height of 10 cm above ground level. There must be a slope (about 5 °), which will ensure the drain of vital products and facilitate cleaning of the room.

Walls

Despite the fact that the walls of stone are the most durable, they do not meet some important sanitary requirements in the construction of such premises. In such a barn it will be damp and cold. To prevent this, the walls should be removed from a material that can hold heat indoors. A brick or a foam block can easily cope with these functions, but they still need additional thermal insulation.

The best materials are adobe brick and shell rock. They are inexpensive, but at the same time they have low thermal conductivity. To obtain the desired microclimate, a wall thickness of 1.5 ordinary bricks is recommended (a foam block structure needs to be erected in one brick). It is important to maintain the height of the room (2.5 m). If above, it will be cold, and below it is stuffy.

Roof

The most suitable (and at the same time cheap) material for forming a roof is slate coating. The frame is recruited from planed boards; it is important that they are completely adjacent to each other. The boards are covered with heat-insulating material on top and only then the slate is laid. It is recommended to leave a slope for free removal of precipitation.

Did you know? A cow can climb up the stairs, but the features of the structure of the legs will not allow it to go down.

You can increase the amount of stored heat if you install a gable roof with an attic, on which there is an additional place for storing hay. The ceiling is assembled from reed slabs, which are insulated with a layer of sawdust or sand.

Windows and doors

To save the cost of artificial lighting, it is important to install windows in the barn. Today you can choose different designs and materials.

For example:

• oar with a double-glazed window;
• oar filled with polycarbonate;
• sliding with colorless polycarbonate.

Important! It is necessary that the height of the windows be higher than the heads of animals (most often it is 1.5 - 1.6 m). The best location is south or east.

Ventilation

Ventilation is one of the difficult issues that must be addressed at the design stage of the barn. The lack of fresh air will lead to the accumulation of pathogenic bacteria and provoke infectious diseases.

Ventilation can be:

• natural;
• forced.

Most often, ventilation is represented by a pipe with an exhaust, which draws air from the room, preventing the penetration of precipitation and cold.

Communications

These issues should be addressed by a specialist who, at the preparatory stage, will correctly mark out all communications and cables. For proper drinking, clean water must always be present in the barn. Lighting also has some features that are recommended to be familiarized with at the construction planning stage.

This includes:

• lighting standards: stalls - 50 suites, feeding place - 75, and the rest of the barn - 200;
• it is recommended to use only LED lamps, as others emit light of lower intensity;
• calculation of daylight hours: from 4 to 8 in the morning the amount of light is increased, and from 16 to 20 in the evening they are reduced.

Important! Absolute darkness in the room where animals live is unacceptable, since there is a high probability of injury. Professionals recommend using 10 W lamps emitting red light at night.

Arrangement of a barn for cattle

A warm barn for cattle, in addition to the correct frame, must be properly equipped. Most often they use a typical layout, in which these conditions are highlighted are considered mandatory:

• stalls are built in several rows;
• between these rows there should be a passage in which the cart can pass;
• each stall should have a personal drinker, feeder and other communications;
• It is recommended that you leave room for the milking machine.

Below is how all the internal elements of the barn are built, and what are their features.

Stall

The stall is planned depending on the characteristics and characteristics of the breed. Most often they are assembled from boards or metal pipes. The area of ​​the stall should be 2.5 sq.m. On average, the width is 125 cm, this is enough. The length is 260 cm, but for large breeds it should be 300 cm. It is better that the structures are mobile, so that, if necessary, change the size, as well as the layout.

Feeding troughs and drinking bowls

Accessories for feed and water can be automatic or manual. The first option will be justified for a large herd and only adult animals, the diet of which is no longer necessary to monitor. The manual method is used in households and when feeding calves or young cows at the diet control stage. Feeding troughs can be made of any capacities.

Did you know? Every minute, the jaws of the cow make 30 to 90 movements.

The main thing is that they are without sharp corners and made of harmless materials. The optimal size is –70 x 40 x 80 cm, then up to 6 kg of grass can be placed without problems. The wall closest to the animal should be shorter than the opposite. It is important that the feeder is divided into two parts - for dry and wet food. It is usually located at a height of 7 cm from the floor.

The volume of the drinking bowl should be at least 100 liters. The capacity does not have any clear configurations and can be any that is suitable in your case. The best option is a drinker from a polypropylene pipe. It is important that the animal has the opportunity to freely approach the water and drink it. Drinking bowls are placed higher than the feeders, they are placed closer to the far corner from the entrance to the stalls.

Litter

To prevent the animal from freezing and becoming infected with diseases, the room should be clean and dry. In this situation, an important role is played by the litter, which is either completely changed daily or added to the existing new layers. Many farmers lay straw on the floor. Peat can be added to it, which perfectly absorbs moisture and odors (in the amount of half less than the main component).

Important! A cow will never lie on a dirty and wet litter. As a result, she will be tired, which will lead to a reduction in milk yield.

Sawdust, sand or shavings may be used. Initially, a layer of the selected material is poured about 15 cm, and then, as it becomes soiled, a new one is laid. You need to do this every week, but more often if you find dirty areas.

What else to take care of

Animals need a place for walking. To do this, they build a walking corral (which will be discussed later) and a manure storage, where manure is stored until it burns out, and it can be used as fertilizer.

Also learn how to build a barn for goats, chickens and ducks.

Walking paddock

The cowshed should have an open walking area, such that there is enough space for the free movement of animals. It is important that the length of one track is at least 500 m. The corral is enclosed so that the cattle does not run away. They also recommend a canopy, under which it will be possible to wait out the weather or heat. On the territory of the walking pen there should be drinking bowls with feeders.

Manure storage

The manure depot is a key building that helps preserve manure and turn it into humus. Transportation is carried out using a screw conveyor in a manure collector. It is important to understand that over a year 1 cow produces about 12 tons of manure. When constructing a manure storage facility, it must be taken into account that its volume should easily contain the amount of manure for 3 days. It is erected next to the barn, the walls are covered with brick or stone. The bottom of the pit is made with a bias to the sump, where fertilizer is collected.

You will be interested to learn how to use cow dung as fertilizer.

The manure is laid to a height of 2 m, it is slightly tamped and covered with a layer of straw and peat, the thickness of which is 15 cm. To accelerate the fermentation processes, it is regularly watered. The slurry is diverted to a well, the bottom and walls of which are coated with clay. As can be seen from the foregoing, the structure of the barn is a serious matter. If you make an effort and have a desire, then a barn with your own hands will be easy to build.