Livestock Housing

With dozens of adaptable plans for sheds, coops, hutches, multipurpose barns, windbreaks, and shade structures, this guide covers everything you need to know to build safe and sturdy housing for your animals. Stressing the importance of evaluating your goals, planning ahead, and budgeting accordingly, Carol Ekarius helps you determine the best structure for your particular situation and offers expert advice on tools and construction techniques. Build a functional and comfortable house for your animals that they’ll be proud to call home.

Livestock housing is a major determinant of animal health, welfare and productivity. This book presents the important principles and processes by which housing influences these outcomes, and shows how an understanding of these can be translated into specifications for housing designs. The emphasis is on the building as a means to an environmental end, focusing on the biological responses and welfare needs of animals in the context of commercial and economic considerations. The book provides a thorough literature review as well as practical guidance and is aimed at academics and professionals in animal production, veterinary science and agricultural engineering.

Appropriate housing that promotes excellent health and high welfare for different livestock species is an essential aspect of sustainable animal production. The appropriate design of livestock buildings is a fast changing and ever improving professional endeavour. This book is set out to review the 'current best practice management' in relation to all key design elements of livestock buildings. It is important to manage these buildings correctly to generate environmental conditions that will enhance the health and welfare of livestock, the health of farm workers and people living near farming operations. 'Livestock housing' is written for all those who are involved in managing the health and welfare conditions of housed livestock on commercial farms, including farm workers, animal scientists, veterinarians, agricultural engineers and of course students. Contributions have been solicited from highly respected specialists from around the world. All key areas of housing management are reviewed, including feeding, watering, ventilation and waste management systems. Furthermore, issues such as the control of emissions, role of bedding, maintenance of hygiene, the management of thermal and aerial environment as well as the use of modern technological tools in the service of livestock management are discussed. This book provides a unique forum for leading international experts to convey up-to-date information to professionals involved in modern animal production.

Environmental Aspects of Housing for Animal Production is concerned with environmental aspects of housing farm animals. The discussions are organized around physical and physiological principles; environmental influences on reproduction; environmental influences on the productivity of farm animals; optimal housing environments for temperate and cool climates; housing environments for hot climates; engineering and control of the house environment; and the constraints of welfare and disease. This text consists of 32 chapters divided into nine sections. The first chapter explores the physiological mechanisms whereby the food- or fiber-producing animals maintain a constant body temperature under climatic extremes and the possible impact that these physiological processes may have on productive systems. This discussion is followed by chapters on the influence of climate on the decision to house livestock; the effect of the environment on animal reproduction; thermal influences on poultry; and the importance of ventilation and temperature control. This text also considers the poultry housing problems in tropical and subtropical climates; insulation of animal houses; and the interaction between feathering and egg production in laying hens. This book will appeal to those working in the field of housing for animal production, both in research and development and at a practical level.

Species specifics; Livestock management; General management; Structure; How to design it; In closing.

Proceedings of a Seminar held in Brussels on June 3-4, 1986, at the Commission of the European Communities