BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 169 



been recognised by architects who are conversant with veterinary 

 hygienic requirements that stalls must be designed to fit the cows 

 the byre is likely to house. 



The length of a stall should be such that when the cow is stand- 

 ing in a natural manner the heels of her hind legs are just at the 

 border of the channel at the rear of the standing. It is plain that 

 as the length of cows varies, so must the length of the stalls, for 

 a stall that would suit one cow may not suit another. For the 

 small breed of cows, such as Jerseys and Kerrys, Spier* recom- 

 mended a length of 6 feet 10 inches to 7 feet from the facing wall 

 to the gutter edge ; for medium size cows, such as Ayrshires, 7 feet 

 to 7 feet 3 inches ; and for Shorthorns a length of 7 feet 6 inches. 

 An occasional cow may be found for which this outside measure- 

 ment is insufficient. 



In all dairy byres, and especially in commercial dairies where 

 breeding of one type is not the custom, there will be cows of all 

 sizes so that it is advisable to grade the length of the stalls down the 

 byre. This is done by making the stall at one end of the byre 

 9 inches longer than the one at the opposite end. This plan is now 

 in common use in first-class cow houses of modern construction, 

 and meets with unqualified approval. In byres where one type of 

 cow is kept, such as pedigree stock, it is unnecessary to have 

 the extreme range of gradation. Local circumstances will decide 

 this point. A method sometimes adopted is to make the stalls 

 on one side of the byre a little shorter than those on the other 

 side. 



The common custom is to keep cows in pairs in double stalls. 

 This effects a saving of labour in milking and tending the animals, 

 and reduces the cost of construction. The breadth of the stalls 

 is an important consideration. If they are too broad cows can 

 turn sideways and foul the standing with faeces, and if they are 

 too narrow the cows, in double stalls, tread on each other's legs 

 and udders. Many cases of mammitis are caused by injuries from 

 treads. Apart from any direct injury to which they are liable, 

 cows placed in stalls too narrow are in great discomfort owing to 

 the difficulty they have of lying down at the same time. 



The width for double stalls should be from 6 feet to 6 feet 

 6 inches for small animals and from 6 feet 6 inches to 7 feet 6 inches 

 for the larger animals. For single stalls an inside width of 4 feet 

 will be found suitable for most cattle. 



Should the stalls be too short the cows stand with their hind feet 

 perpetually in the faeces channel, to the marked detriment of the 

 * Journal of Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, Oct., 1909. 



