UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



S^f^'^mTU 



BULLETIN No. 736 <| 



Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry 

 JOHN R. MOHLER, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



November 15, 1918 



THE OPEN SHED COMPARED WITH THE CLOSED 

 BARN FOR DAIRY COWS. 



By T. E. Woodward, W. F. Turner, W. R. Hale, and J. B. McNultt, of the 



Dairy Division. 



CONTENTS. 



Present dairy practice regarding open and 



closed barns 1 



Review of previous work 2 



The experimental work 3 



Description of the open shed 3 



The closed barn 4 



The cows 4 



Production records 4 



Feed records 5 



Discussion of results • 5 



Labor required 10 



Preparing cows for milking 10 



Removing manure and flushing out milk 



room 11 



Bedding — time required, pounds needed, 



etc 11 



Health and contentment of the cows 12 



Manure — preservation, handling, etc 13 



Summary 13 



PRESENT DAIRY PRACTICE REGARDING OPEN AND CLOSED BARNS. 



In order that milk and butterfat may be produced economically, 

 it is necessary to provide shelter of some kind for dairy cattle during 

 the cold, stormy seasons of the year. While the length of the stabling 

 period varies in different sections of the United States, most dairy 

 cows are now housed for at least five months, from November to 

 March, inclusive. 



An open-shed barn is usually partly or entirely closed on three 

 sides, leaving one side, usually the south or east, open. The shed is 

 large enough to allow each animal sufficient room for comfort and 

 exercise, the space allowed varying from 35 to 150 square feet for 

 each cow. The animals are allowed the freedom of the shed except 

 at milking time. Usually there is a separate room into which the 

 cows are driven for milking. This room may accommodate all or 

 only a part of them. In the latter case they are milked in groups. 

 In the milking room the cows are groomed, milked, and fed grain, 

 after which they are driven out and another group takes their place. 

 Roughage is fed in racks and troughs provided for that purpose in 

 the open shed. 



74848°— 18— Bull. 736 



