166 VETERINARY HYGIENE 



In A and its double counterpart B the cows stand close to the 

 wall against which are placed the food-troughs. In C and D a 

 feeding passage or alleyway is interposed between the cows' heads 

 and the facing wall. In E, a double byre, the cows stand facing the 

 centre of the house with a feeding passage between them, a milking 

 and cleaning passage being behind. A byre of the type F is de- 

 signed to hold four rows of cows under one roof and is a combina- 

 tion of D and E. In G the animals are arranged in transverse rows 

 across the building. 



Types A, B, C and D have no objectionable features and all of 

 them are in common use. E, F and G are all bad plans and should 

 not be adopted. Animals should never be placed so that they stand 

 facing each other as there is more risk of infectious disease being 



FIG. 70. Plan of a single cow-shed without a feeding passage. 



spread from one to the other, and also because satisfactory ventilation 

 of such a building is difficult. Animals should stand facing the air 

 inlets so as to get the maximum benefit of the fresh incoming air. 

 It is very often the case that a central feeding passage is turned 

 into a temporary store for roots and similar food instead of being 

 put to its legitimate use. Instances have been known where such 

 a passage has been used as a pen for calves a very bad practice 

 as it exposes the young animals to an extraordinary risk of tuber- 

 cular infection. F and G are particularly bad arrangements as 

 with either it is practically impossible to provide the animals with 

 a proper supply of fresh air. 



Some difference of opinion exists concerning the advisability 

 of having a feeding passage in front of the cows as shown in 

 C and D or whether it is better to dispense with the passage and 

 stand the cows close to the facing wall. For the system it may 

 be said that there may be some saving of labour in feeding when the 

 byre is a big one and holds a considerable number of cows. Feeding 

 passages undoubtedly add to the cost of construction, increase the 

 labour of cleaning the byre, and materially increase the difficulty 



