Animal Housing

Animal Housing is required to protect the animals from inclement weather

and provide a clean, comfortable stay for the good health of animals and for
efficient management. Inadequate and improper planning results in additional
labor charges and increased costs in the maintenance of sheds. Adequate Farrowing crate flooring also helps maintain a dry environment. This helps to
housing for animals is aimed at increased milk production, better labor prevent the spread of diseases. This is especially important as the piglets and
utilization, better health of animals, disease control, and better care and mothers are more susceptible.
management of animals resulting in the production of high-quality milk
resulting in a remunerative price and better profit for the farm.
Several types of housing are available. The farmer has to select the suitable
housing system keeping in view the local environment and economic
status. \\
What are the different types of animal housing?
Gestation crates are not only necessary to keep the piglets and mother safe
At different times in your life, you may have slept in a cradle, a crib, a bunk
but also the farmer! Pregnant sows display very aggressive behavior that can
bed, or a cot. You may have lived in a townhouse, a cottage, a college dorm,
lead to injury.
or an apartment. Where you lived depended on where you were in your life.
Were you a toddler or a bachelor? A student or a young married person? Just By using gestation crates, farmers can assist during delivery, monitor the
like people, animals live in different places depending on their stage of life. well-being of the young, and stay safe. Piglets stay with their mother for about
two to four weeks. After that, they are moved to a nursery. Here, they are kept
warm and given special food to help them transition from their mother’s milk
Pigs to the adult pig feed they will be eating later on.
When it is time for baby pigs (piglets) to be born, their mothers are moved to Sheep
farrowing (gestation) crates. These individual pens have metal bars that
The type of housing given to sheep depends on the production system the
separate the mother from the piglets when they are born. This allows the
farmer uses. In “farm flock” production systems, the farmer may allow his
piglets to nurse from her but prevents the mother from accidentally laying on
sheep access to pasture during the day and keep his sheep in a barn at
the baby pigs and crushing them.
night.

Gestation crates also allow the farmer to better control the housing
temperature. The separation allows the piglets to be in a warmer area and
the mother in a colder area.
During the winter, he may keep some sheep in the barn all day. These The male calves are either kept to grow into dairy bulls or sold to other farms
systems are usually found in the eastern part of the United States, where to be raised for veal or beef.
farms are smaller.
Adult dairy cows are usually kept in large, open barns with free stalls,
In the western United States, “range flocks” are more common. These meaning that they have the freedom to walk around the barn at will. These
production systems often let sheep run free throughout the year, with the stalls are bedded with straw, sand, wood shavings and other bedding
farmer moving with them as they graze. The sheep are less intensively materials that make it comfortable for the cow to lie down.
managed than in farm flocks. The farmer controls his flock’s environment
less, but the sheep get more exercise and more time to graze. On some farms, dairy cows are allowed to graze periodically throughout the
day and are also provided with feed and water when they return to the barn.
The type of housing necessary for sheep also depends on what time of the At least twice a day, they are taken to the milking parlor, where their milk is
year the baby sheep (lambs) are born. Because the producer has more collected and pumped into a large steel vat and held there until a milk truck
contact with his sheep and more choice over where they are housed, this is takes it to be processed.
more of an issue for farm flocks.
Broilers (meat-type chickens)
Usually, female sheep (ewes) are what farmers call short-day breeders,
meaning it is easiest for them to get pregnant when the days are short, during There are two types of domestically-kept chickens: broilers and layers.
fall and winter. A ewe’s pregnancy lasts around 147 days, so lambs from Broilers are chickens that are raised for meat. They may live in several
ewes bred in the fall are born in the spring. different places before they are old enough to go to market.

Dairy cattle On special breeding farms, fertilized eggs are laid by a breeding hen. These
eggs are taken to a hatchery and stored for up to ten days before they are
Unlike most other farm animals in larger production systems, dairy cows tend placed into incubators. These incubators keep the eggs at a temperature of
to stay in one place for most of their lives. 55–88° F before they hatch into chicks at 21 days.
When baby cows (calves) are born, they are separated from their mothers to After hatching, the chicks are taken to other farms where they will grow to
prevent the spreading of diseases from cow to calf. They are fed colostrum market weight. When the chicks first arrive, farmers may choose to divide
from their mom as quickly as possible. Colostrum is the first milk from the their long, ventilated chicken houses into smaller sections, as the chicks are
cow, which has special antibodies to protect the calf from diseases. Calves still very small and may have trouble finding their feed and water in a large
are then fed milk replacer for six weeks in order to preserve their mother’s space. Farmers may use brooding rings (small, round pens) to keep the
milk for human consumption. chicks close to the food, water and heaters necessary to keep them healthy
and warm.
The female calves (heifers) are placed in individual pens, such as hutches, or
together in groups, where they are fed milk replacer, grain, water and hay. At As the birds grow, the farmers will take the dividers down and let the chickens
about seven weeks, calves are weaned, taken off milk, they are moved into move around the entire barn. The chickens will be kept in this barn until they
group housing with other dairy heifers. These heifers then grow and once weigh about six pounds and are ready to go to market.
they have a calf, they begin producing milk and move into a barn with other
cows.
Laying hens On larger farms, where many pigs are housed together, these crates are
used to separate the sows in order to keep them from fighting and injuring
After they have hatched, laying hens are kept in cages until they are around each other. They also allow farmers to keep more pigs together, because
17 weeks old. They are then moved into a laying house where they begin each sow has her own designated section of the barn in which she must stay.
laying eggs. On larger farms, laying houses are connected by a series of One big advantage of this is that the farmer can individually monitor how
conveyor belts that transfer the eggs from each house to a central building. much each sow is eating and adjust the amount of feed she gets per day so
Here the eggs are refrigerated and either processed on the farm or that she is in proper body condition prior to farrowing.
transported to another facility for further processing.
Although these crates allow the farmer to be more productive, some people
In conventional layer chicken systems, farmers can keep their chickens in are concerned about whether it is healthy for the sows to be kept in such a
either a floor system or battery-style cages. The floor system is a lot like small space. Scientists are trying to come up with a solution that will make
broiler chicken housing, where chickens can roam the floor of the barn. the sows healthier while still keeping them safe and allowing the farmers earn
Farmers can also keep their chickens in battery-style chickens, which money.
separate the chickens from each other to prevent them from fighting.
Caged housing for laying hens
Layer hens in battery cages.
Laying hens are sometimes housed in cages called battery cages. These
Welfare concerns in housing cages have sloped floors which allow the eggs to roll onto a conveyor belt.
Farmers’ livelihoods depend on the health of their animals, so they do their The eggs from battery cages tend to be cleaner and are more easily collected
best to keep them healthy and happy. than eggs from hens that live on barn floors.

In order to keep their businesses going, farmers need to earn more money When kept together, chickens will fight each other in order to determine which
selling products from their animals than they spend taking care of them. one is in charge. This is called a pecking order.  Battery cages help to keep
When farmers have more animals, this is easier for them to do. But having the hens from pecking each other and injuring themselves or another bird.
more animals also makes it harder to find space for them all. Some people are concerned about the welfare of the laying hens kept in
This is one of the most pressing issues for farmers and animal rights groups: cages. In the European Union, all battery cages have been banned. The
providing enough space for each animal to live in, while still allowing the trouble is that when battery cages are banned, egg prices go up because it
farmer to have enough animals to stay in business. becomes more expensive for the farmer to keep his chickens. Farmers,
researchers and public policymakers are still working to find the best solution
Below is a description of some animal housing that has come under scrutiny for the farmers, the consumers and the animals.
in recent years based on animal welfare concerns.  An attempt is made to
address both side of each issue.
Tethering of dairy cows

Gestation crates Instead of being housed in free stall barns, dairy cows are sometimes
tethered, which means that they are put in stalls and tied there so that they
Gestation crates are small pens where female pigs (sows) are kept while they cannot walk around the barn. Tethering has not been found to cause
are pregnant. For a high-producing sow, this may be most of her life.
unnecessary stress to the cows, but researchers suggest that tethered cows
be allowed daily access to an exercise barn, where they would be free to
walk around for a period during the day.
 
 
References:
http://www.sheep101.info/201/lambmarketing.html