OPEN SETJED COMPARED WITH BARN FOR DAIRY COWS. 3 



The effects of extremely low temperatures are practically negative in reducing the 

 flow of milk. No bad results were experienced from cows horning or butting one 

 another when allowed the freedom of the open shed. 



Davis, 1 at the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 conducted an experiment in which the effect of open-shed housing 

 for dairy cows was compared with the closed stable. He concludes 

 as follows : 



It appears that the cows kept under the open shed have keener appetites and con- 

 sume more roughage than those kept in stables. Sufficient protein was consumed 

 under both systems to meet the requirements of milk and maintenance. The milk 

 yield of the outside group decreased more rapidly each winter than that of the inside 

 group. Sudden drops in atmospheric temperature caused decreases in milk yield 

 for both groups, the outside group having slightly greater decrease. More bedding 

 was required outside, but less labor was necessary to keep the cows clean. Both 

 groups finished each winter trial in good health. 



THE EXPERIMENTAL WORK. 



The following details of three years' experiments carried on at 

 the Dairy Division Experiment Farm at Beltsville, Md., show the 

 conditions under which the work was done. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE OPEN SHED. 



The shed used was of frame construction, 58 feet in length and 

 35 feet in width, inside measurements. On the north end a space 

 of 18 feet was partitioned off and inclosed for a milking room with 

 stalls for 8 cows. It had a concrete platform, gutter, and alleyway. 

 The cows were allowed the freedom of the shed except at milking 

 time. The north end of the shed and the east and west sides up 

 to within 18 inches of the plate were kept closed, while the south 

 end, except for a fence to keep the cows inside when desired, was 

 entirely open. On the south was a small dry paddock where the 

 cows were permitted to exercise. The space available for the cows 

 within the open shed, excluding the space of the feeding troughs, 

 was a little more than 1,200 square feet, which allowed each of the 

 16 cows housed in the shed approximately 75 square feet of floor 

 space. Two doors opened into the milking room from the shed, 

 one through which the cows were driven in to be milked and the 

 other through which they were driven out after milking. 



This was the type of shed used during the first year of the experi- 

 ment. For the last two years a new shed, entirely open on the 

 south side, replaced the old one. The north side and both ends had 

 large doors which swung from the top. In summer the doors were 

 raised to permit a better circulation of air, but in the winter months, 



1 Davis, H. P. The Effect of Open-Shed Housing as Compared with Closed Stable for Milch Cows." 

 Separate No. 14 (pp. 183-226), Annual Report, 1913-14, Pennsylvania State College. 1916. 



