Ventilation in Cattle Sheds

30/11/2012 Website News
Ventilation in Cattle Sheds Ventilation important in Cattle Sheds
Teagasc says the constant downpours of the last fortnight will have forced almost all cattle into sheds.
Housing cattle when wet may be necessary but not ideal.
�The weather is often very wet and mild in the months of November and December resulting in high humidity within the house. The weeks immediately after housing is the time when ventilation is most severely tested. Ventilation plays a vital role in maintaining good animal performance and in disease control. Signs of poor ventilation are excessive condensation on the roof and other surfaces, mould growth on timbers, bad odour resulting from ammonia in the airspace, wet coats on cattle and dirty hides.
Efficient ventilation should get rid of excess moisture, respiratory disease organisms, dust and waste gases. Newer housing have much better ventilation and where you have a choice put the weanlings and younger cattle in the newest housing.
Look at older houses for remedial work. kKeep doors open provided this does not create a strong draught. Ensure there are no blockages in the existing inlet and outlets. If there is space boarding you could remove every second board or better still turn a metre length of space boarding into a door with hinges that can be opened in calm conditions and closed in windy conditions. If there is a cap on the roof apex it is likely to be too low so it could be raised or removed to help the escape of stale air. The inlet area should be twice the outlet area which is got by having the same open area at both eaves as is provided at the apex, either as an open space or the equivalent open space provided through vented sheeting or space boarding.
Cattle houses are ventilated by natural means and this operates in two ways (i) by the affect of wind and (ii) by the stack effect on a calm day. In Ireland the wind ventilation is most common. To avoid downdraughts a strong incoming wind needs the same space at the other side of the house to escape. The stack effect works on the fact that warm air produced by the heat from the stock rises and some escapes through the roof apex and is replaced by cool air drawn in at the eaves.
Further information: http://bit.ly/Quzr3m

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