Animal Hygienic Principles Of Construction And Reconstruction Of Stables

Question 1

Animal hygienic principles of stables

Answer 1

• protection from weather extremes and predators

- meeting the ethological demands of farmed animals and the ergonomic needs of farmers

Question 2

General considerations

Answer 2

• construction elements
• technological systems
• cheap, old barns
• modern barns
• what the vet should know about the structure?

Question 3

Construction elements

Answer 3

‣ base/footing of the house 
‣ walls
‣ roofing
‣ floor
‣ windows/doors/gates
‣ Separation from the environment
‣ Protects the animals and the technological systems 
‣ Long lifetime

Question 4

Technological systems

Answer 4

‣ Thephilosophyofthesystem
	• tied down/loose keeping
	• keeping with/without bedding
	• closed/open confinements etc.
‣ Technical/engineering equipment systems that realize philosophy 
	• system of ventilation
	• feed distribution (solid/wetetc.)
	• cages/batteries etc.

Question 5

Cheap old barns

Answer 5

‣ Technological systems 
‣ Simple structure
‣ Cheap to build
‣ Cleaning by hand
‣ Human labor required

Question 6

Modern barns

Answer 6

‣ Technological systems can be changed
‣ Large number of animals
‣ Usually framework based animal shed/stable

Question 7

What the vet should know about the structure?

Answer 7

◦ Physical/ thermal/ biological properties of building materials
◦ Hygienic requirements for walls/ windows/ roofs/ floors
◦ Ventilation/ heat balance of closed animal stables

Question 8

Properties of building materials

Answer 8

• Thermal characteristics
	◦ Long term effect on thermal properties of the building
• Disinfectibility
• Not poisonous or radioactive
	◦ Asbestos 
	◦ Dross

Question 9

Physical/ thermal/ biological properties of materials

Answer 9

• Density: kg/m3 (δ)
• Specific heat:kJ/kg* (c)
• Heat capacity: δ/c (kJ/m3)
• Thermal conductivity
• Thermal transmittance (U)

Question 10

Density

Answer 10

kg/m3 (δ)

Question 11

Specific heat

Answer 11

• kJ/kg (c)

- amount of heat required to increase the temperature by 1 C of a material of 1 kg mass

Question 12

Heat capacity

Answer 12

• δ/c (kJ/m3)

- Equal to the ratio of the heat added to (or removed from) an object to the resulting temperature change

Question 13

Thermal conductivity

Answer 13

• Ability of homogenous material to conduct heat.
• Amount of heat passing through 1m2 x-section of a material when a temperature difference of 1oC is maintained between opposite surfaces of 1m thickness

Question 14

Thermal transmittence

Answer 14

• (U)
• Amount of heat (watts) transmitted through 1m2 surface of a construction from the air inside to the air outside when there is a 1oC difference between inside and outside.
• Should be <2.8

Question 15

Vapour transmittancen

Answer 15

• Water vapour transmitted through 1m2 surface of stable construction from indoor to outdoor.
• 1 Hgmm difference in aerial vapour pressure

Question 16

Thermal characteristics of building

Answer 16

• thermal lag:
  
  • how fast will the temp change inside if it changes outside the building
  • depends on heat capacity (C)
• thermal damping:
  
  • how big temp difference can be between the inside and outside

Question 17

Walls

Answer 17

• foundation: weight bearing, min. 50-70cm
• basement: first 30-50cm, water sealing, good insulation is important
• material: brickwork, concrete block etc.
  
  • general demands: good heat characteristics, strong, fire resistant, simple easy cheap
  • animal hygienic demands: good heat isolation, make vapour diffusion possible, vapour sealing inside, no precipitation, resistant against rodents

Question 18

Doors and windows

Answer 18

• Proper sealing
• Wind-break: If cold sensitive animals are in the barn, Storage room, Canvas
• Doors: Animals can go through easily, Do not cause harm, Opens both ways Or to the main direction, 2 doors/stables
• Windows: Illumination, Air change: Carefully! in Winter (heatloss)
• Position of the windows: in the walls, in the roof skylight
• Stables wider than 12m should have roof windows for the sake of illumination
◦ Too much heat gain in summer
◦ Too much heat loss in winter

Question 19

Roof

Answer 19

• Demands for the roof of animal houses:
◦ well insulated, most of the heat lost here
◦ good vapor transmittance
◦ light coloured and heat reflective (to decrease the solar heat gain)
◦ Roofshell: protection against precipitation
◦ Ceiling:
‣ heat insulation (requested insulation: 17-21kW/m2)
‣ carrying weights (e.g.storing grains, hay,etc.)

Question 20

Floor

Answer 20

• bedding material +/-

- straw bedding: good foot holding, soft, good thermal properties, water absorption, lessens the germ load

Question 21

Floor

Answer 21

• bedding +/-
• straw bedding: good foot holding, soft, good thermal properties, water absorption
• resting area
• handling passages / dunging area: animals stay for short periods, not slippery, resistant to rodents/ mechanical cleaning/ chemicals
• removal: faeces, urine, microorganisms, gas, NH3, CO2, ventilation requires energy
• wet floor: animal don’t lie down, infection, heat loss

Question 22

Resting area

Answer 22

• deep bedding: 20-25cm, refreshment daily, cattle/sheep/poultry
• superficial bedding: 5-10cm
• no bedding
• animals stay for long periods

Question 23

Slatted floor

Answer 23

• cattle/sheep/pig/rabbit/poultry
• material: wood/ metal wire/ plastic rubber
• thermal attributes of slat materials should not be worse than the relevant value for the solid floor
• In poultry and rabbit operations slats should be made of light materials (welded mesh, plastic slats) to facilitate speedy warming up to body temperature

Question 24

Demands for upper cover layer

Answer 24

• have about 3% slope towards dunging area
• water proof
• no cracks, good weight bearing
• capacity, resistance to strong water flush (cleaning), resistante to disinfectants
• warm, elastic, non-slippery, low germ content, easy cleaning, easy disinfection

Question 25

Structural requirements of the floor

Answer 25

• cattle: proper cubicle size and settings, neck rail
• pigs: dirtying the same area, manure is important source of infection (E.coli, Ascaris suum), removal from the farm (150-200m)

Question 26

Removal of faeces

Answer 26

• mechanical: automatic scraping with machines, no water added for less liquid manure
• hydraulic: high pressure water, slower flowing method