COW-BYRES 157 



They are more difficult to keep clean than the open variety, besides which, 

 dirt in closed drains is out of sight which, in most cases, means " out of 

 mind" as well. 



Each of the open cow-byre manure channels should discharge into a 

 sump outside the byre, such as the two sumps marked " S " in the frontis- 

 piece, from which a 6-inch stoneware drain pipe leads to the liquid 

 manure tank, adjoining the dung-stead. 



See Chapter XXV. for a description of the drainage scheme outside of 

 the byre. 



Internal Design. — The chief points that claim attention in the internal 

 design are — 



(a) Facility in cleaning and feeding ; 



(b) The reduction to a minimum of the risk of contamination of 



the milk produced ; 



(c) The health and comfort of the animals. 



Manger. — It is quite a mistake, but one which is often made, to place 

 the bottom of the manger above the floor level. "With the manger so 

 raised the following is what happens : — 



When feeding, the cow has her head over the manger, but before she 

 can lie down she has to step back so that her head may clear the high 

 manger. The length of the stall, from manger to manure channel, has 

 to be made long enough to suit this second position, and is consequently 

 too long for the first position. Any manure which the cow may drop, 

 while she is standing in the feeding position, will fall on the place where 

 her hind-quarters will be when she steps back and lies down. It is 

 therefore quite impossible to keep the cows clean when the stalls are 

 fitted with high mangers. 



The great secret in building stalls, is to arrange them so that the cow 

 lies down in the same floor space as that which she occupies while feeding. 

 This can only be done by building the manger with its bottom at floor- 

 level, and with its edge next the cow of such a height that she can 

 comfortably rest her head over the manger when lying down (see 

 Figs. 129, 130, etc.). 



In the case of double stalls, the manger belonging to one cow should 

 be divided off from that belonging to the other by a concrete cross 

 partition, so as to form two separate feeding troughs in each double stall. 

 The internal corners of these feeding troughs should be well rounded in to 

 facilitate cleaning. 



