ABE 512: DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOSYSTEMS STRUCTURES

Laboratory Exercise No.4

Housing for Dairy Cattle and Carabao Feedlot

I. Introduction
According to the article I read, the carabao population in the country is kept both in backyard
and commercial farms. In 2002, 3.08 M head, representing 99%, are kept in backyard farms, 1% is
kept in commercial farms. It should be noted that differences between backyard and commercial
production systems are not limited to the number of animals kept in the farm, but also in production
management, utilization and marketing of its products. Like carabaos, cattle in the Philippines are
also kept in both backyard and commercial farms. Based on the statistics reported by BAS (2001),
about 90% of the cattle population in the country is kept in backyard farms while the remaining 10%
are raised commercially. Practices in backyard and commercial production systems vary. Among
these variations are number of animals kept in the farm, feeding and management, genotype of
animals raised, and the utilization of animals.
In order for us to produce high grade of meats and milk from Carabao and cattle we must
secure and protect them from anything that will cause them disease. A great and nice housing is one
of the keys of it. If you have housing, you are not only making home for them, you are protecting
them! This Laboratory exercise will show you the standard of making a house for cattle and carabao.

II. Objectives
1. To know the different parts of housing for dairy cattle and carabao feedlot structure.
2. To show the different designs of housing for dairy cattle and carabao feedlot production.
3. To identify and assessed sample dairy cattle housing and carabao feedlot in the Philippines
base in PAES.

III. Methodology

1. Conduct a research about dairy cattle housing and carabao feedlot structures.
2. Illustrate and discuss the different housing designs for dairy cattle and carabao feedlot.
Label each parts/ components of the housing.
3. Discuss how dairy cattle housing and carabao feedlot structure were designed base on the
existing housing structure in the Philippines. Mention some of these structures.
4. Discuss your assessment on the chosen housing structure base on the Philippine Agricultural
Engineering Standards or other standards in structural design.

IV. Results and Discussions

Living place or house of cattle and carabao is simply known as cattle/carabao housing. Good
housing is required for raising cattle/carabao. Because suitable housing is needed for keeping the
cattle/carabao safe from storm, rain, sun, hot temperature, excessive cold climate and other
adverse weather conditions. The cattle also need to be kept inside the house if you have not
sufficient amount of grazing place. So, you must have to make a good house for your animals.
You can make cattle housing or mini dairy farm by using proper plan and your local available
facilities. This will ensure more profit by investing little capital. Do the followings while making
house for your cattle and carabao. The selected place for housing will be higher than other places
surrounding the house, so that you can easily remove rain water and other materials. Soil of the
selected place will be fertile and enriched with sand and must have to be dry always. Ensure the
entrance of sufficient air and light inside the house. Because sunlight helps to dry the house and
help to prevent germs or virus. South faced houses are very comfortable for the cattle. It will be
better if the houses are not surrounded by many trees. Don’t let the house to damp anyhow. Make
a proper drainage system inside the cattle house, so that you can easily remove excreta and trash.
Excreta and trash are suitable place for mosquito, flies and other parasites or virus and your cattle
can get affected by various types of diseases easily. You can make simple cattle and carabao
house by using bamboo pillar, straw and roof of leaves. You can also make the house by using
tree pillar and with a roof of tin. In this system, you have to make a ceiling under the roof to keep
the cattle free from hot temperature. It will be better, if the houses are surrounded by bamboo or
net fence made with strong wire. Cattle and carabao house are made depending on weather
condition, geographical position and economic condition. Cattle housing design varies from
region to region. So, there are no proper cattle housing design which are appropriate for rearing
cattle worldwide. Farmers of different countries make different types of cattle houses which are
suitable for them. On an average cattle house are of two types. Open housing method and fixed
cattle housing method. Open housing, In open cattle housing method, cattle are kept inside the
house for whole day except milking and delivery time. But in adverse weather conditions like
storm, rain, hot or cold, they are moved to a safe place. Cattle or carabao needs about 3.5 to 7
square meter place in open cattle housing method. This type of houses is suitable for big sized
calf and non-milk productive cattle. Almost all types of animals can be kept in this house. Open
housing is suitable for all locations throughout the world. But the design of the house can be
different depending on the excessive hot or cold areas. Fixed Housing, in this method the cattle
are tied up with rope and the rope obstructed with a pillar. Feeding and milking process done in
the same place. Try to clean the house regularly and make the house in such a way which is very
comfortable for the cattle. Fixed cattle house has two types. One row and two row cattle houses.
One row house, this type of houses is suitable for little number of cattle. Make the house
according to the number of your cattle. Cattle needs about 165 cm standing place, 105 cm side
place and 75 cm feeding pot. Make partition with iron pipe to separate the cattle from one to
another. The partition pipe needs to be 90 cm long and 45 cm in height. Two row houses, this
type of houses is suitable for commercial cattle farming business. The animals can be kept in both
face to face and opposite to each other system. In face-to-face system, cattle are kept in two rows
faces to each other. Food pot are kept between the two cattle rows. In this system the cattle need
about 5.5 feet standing place and 3.5 feet place in side. In opposite to each other method, cattle
are kept in two rows. Their mouth faces to outside. Keep about 4 feet place between the two rows.
In this method each cattle will require about 5.5 feet place. Keep the cattle house dry and clean
always. Remove the excreta from house frequently. Do this at least twice a day. If the house
become unhealthy and damping, then the cattle will get affected by various types of diseases
easily. Keep the cattle house dry and clean always. Remove the excreta from house frequently.
Do this at least twice a day. If the house become unhealthy and damping, then the cattle will get
affected by various types of diseases easily.
 Proper housing which utilizes their which is conducive to good health, comfort and protection
from inclement weather and which would enable the animals to utilize their genetic ability and
feed for optimal production. The standards for housing of cattle and carabao in somehow, it’s the
same.
Upon assessing of PAES standard for housing cattle and carabao the discussions should be
considered. For construction of housing buildings selection of site is most important. Before
selecting a site, the following points are to be considered. Location shall conform to the land use
of plan area. The site shall be accessible to service roads, water supply and electric lines. The site
shall be well drained and allows for free air circulation. The building shall be constructed in an
east west orientation and the structure for marketable animals shall be located near the service
road. And the site shall be located where the prevailing winds will not carry odors to the
farmhouse. The minimum floor space requirements are shown in table below:

Floor, concrete floors shall be skid resistant. The minimum floor thickness shall be 76 mm
with 2-4% slope towards the drainage. If the floor is earth lot, it shall have a slope of 4-7%. For
the roof, adequate roofing materials shall be provided for the protection against rain and direct
sunlight. The roof slope shall not less than 25%. If roofing is made of indigenous materials, the
minimum roof slope shall be 58%. The minimum height of the top of the roof f beam shall be 2.5
m from the floor. Pen walling and post shall be preferably made of G.I. pipes schedule 40. The
diameter of vertical and horizontal railing member of the pen wall shall be at least 50 mm and 75
mm for the post. The maximum center to center spacing between vertical railing member shall be
1.5 m and for horizontal railing member, spacing shall be 0.4 m. The maximum center to center
spacing between post shall be 3 m and shall be embedded in a concrete pedestal with a minimum
depth of 0.4 m and will be shown in below figure:
 Each post shall be provided with 0.15m concrete protectors. The height of the pen shall be 1.2
m – 1.5 m. The fittings and internal surfaces of the pens shall be free from edges or projections
to avoid injury to the animals. Paints that may be toxic to animals shall nor be used on the surfaces
accessible to them. Maternity pens shall be provided for cows that are two months away from
parturition. The pen shall be bended with straw or any suitable bedding materials for use during
calving. Rice hull is preferred than straw because it drains off easily. And the pen shall be
equipped with feeding and watering facility. The calves under 3 months should have individual
stalls for easier feeding and for closer observation. The stalls and its parameters will be shown
below:

The minimum height of the pen shall be 1.2 m and it shall be elevated at least 0.3 m from the
ground. Solid partition to prevent calves from licking each other. Hairballs could be formed I the
underdeveloped rumen of the calf. Pen wall and floor shall be made of metal pipes or bars. The
slat space clearance in the pen wall shall be 115 mm - 130 mm and the slat space clearance in the
pen floor shall be 25mm-30 mm. Feeding facility, feeding trough shall be placed along the sides
of the pen and should either be made of wood or concrete see figure below for the cross section
of a feeding trough:

Feeding trough shall be provided with horizontal rail to restrain the animals from stepping the
trough. For calves up to 6 months, the height of the horizontal rail shall be 0.7m, while for 7
months calves, it shall be 0.9 m. For yearling, heifer, dry, and milking cow, the height should be
1m - 1.2 m. The inside surfaces of the feeding trough should be smooth and it should have rounded
corners to facilitate cleaning. The bed of the trough should be 0.15 m above the level of the apron
to facilitate natural feeding stance. For calves up to one year, the dimension of the feed trough
shall be 0.25 m depth 0.4 m – 0.65 m bottom width and 0.65 m – 0.85 m top width. And for older
animals, the dimension of the feed trough shall be 0.4 m depth, 0.45 m – 0.7 m bottom width and
0.7 m – 0.9 m top width. If the feeding trough is separate from the shed or building, concrete or
gravel packed aprons along the feeder shall be constructed and shall be at least 1.5 m wide. It
shall have a slope of 2-4% towards the drainage. Water troughs should be made of concrete or
galvanized metal tanks. Float activated valve should be provided to regulate the water level. The
water troughs shall be provided with concrete or gavel packed aprons with a slope of 2-4% to
improve sanitation and keep the water clean. If automatic waterer is used, one automatic waterer
shall be provided for 15 animals and it shall be placed at a height of 1 m. The cross section of it
will be shown below:
 Lighting, shall be provided within the housing. For feeding area, 200 lux should be provided,
70 lux should be provided for the pens and 30 lux should be provided for feed storage area. The
central alley or the driveway should be elevated and shall have a minimum width of 3 m if vehicles
are allowed to enter within the building and it shall have a solid base. The gutter shall have a
minimum width of 0.46 m and a minimum depth of 0.2 m. Storage sheds for all feedstuffs – hay,
grain, mineral salt, shall be provided to keep it dry, protect from rodents and be inaccessible to
animals. If silo is necessary, the walls should be smooth and air-tight. For a horizontal silo, the
walls should slope about 1:4.
For the cattle and carabao feedlot, floor should be skid resistant. The minimum floor thickness
shall be 76 mm with 2 - 4% slope towards the drainage. If the is earth lot, it shall have a slope of
4 - 7%. Roof, Adequate roofing shall be provided against excessive heat from the sun. The roof
slope shall not be less than 25%. If roofing is made of indigenous materials, the minimum roof
slope shall be 58%. Pen walling and post shall be preferably made of G.I. pipes schedule 40. The
diameter of vertical and horizontal railing member of the pen wall shall be at least 50 mm and 75
mm for the post. The maximum center to center spacing between vertical railing members shall
be 1.5 m and for horizontal railing member, spacing shall be 400 mm. Pen width should be
adequate to provide the required trough length for the number and size of cattle being fed in the
pen. Loading chute should be provided and should be oriented so as to minimize the effect of
bright sunlight. The width shall be 660 mm – 760 mm. A catwalk on one side of the chute should
be provided to allow the handler to load the cattle easier. Loading chute should be provided with
telescoping side panels and a self-aligning dock bumper. The chute should be provided with
loading ramp with a level-loading surface of about 1.5 m wide to walk on or off the truck. Loading
ramp floor shall have cross battens every 200 mm to prevent slipping. Ramp should have a slope
 of 30%. The ramp height for different vehicles will show below:

The slope of the permanently installed ramp shall not exceed 36%. For portable or adjustable
loading chute, slope shall not exceed 47%. If stair-stepped concrete ramps are provided, each step
should have 90 mm – 100 mm rise and 300 mm tread width. The step surface shall be roughened.

V. Conclusion
Farmers are experiential learners. They learn more by doing something themselves (and being
able to monitor its impact) than by the more traditional learning programs of classroom tuition
and short ‘hands on’ practical sessions. Model farms provide them with a practically based
learning environment. Thus, to know and to be familiars by the design of housing and parts or
components of cattle and carabao housing and make it them to experienced will eventually help
us to improved or make a add on’s to our should and shall to do, that are written to the Philippine
Agricultural Engineering Standards.

VI. References

[1] Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standard (PAES) 405:2001. Agricultural

Structures-Cattle Feedlot [PDF]. Retrieved from.
https://amtec.ceat.uplb.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/405-1.pdf
[2] Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standard (PAES) 408:2001. Agricultural
Structures-Carabao Feedlot [PDF]. Retrieved from.
https://amtec.ceat.uplb.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/408-1.pdf

[3] Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standard (PAES) 407:2001. Agricultural

Structures-Housing for Dairy Cattle [PDF]. Retrieved from.
https://amtec.ceat.uplb.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/408-1.pdf
[4] Roy’s Farm. Cattle Housing: How to Make a Good House for Your Cattle.,
(May 27, 2021)., Retrieved from.
https://amtec.ceat.uplb.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/408-1.pdf