Moving into the new cow barn

After many hard months it is now finished – our new cow barn for the dairy cows – with plenty of freedom of movement, air and light, and for us it means easier work.

Since some guests have written to us asking if we could send pictures of the new barn, we would like to dedicate today’s farm story to this topic.

After initial adjustment difficulties, the cows (and we too) have gotten used to the new barn routine and working environment quite well.

In the new barn, the cows can move around freely and get their feed from the feeding table whenever they want.

They have three heated water troughs available for drinking, which we clean at least twice a week. Fresh air and light are also essential in the barn. The ridge light and the many side windows offer the perfect way to flood the barn with light and ventilate it at the same time.

Because of this it is rather cool in the new barn, but that is exactly how our cows like it. When it is warmer than 10 degrees, the windows in the lying area open and the animals get additional fresh air. So that the animals can also orient themselves at night, the emergency lighting switches on when it reaches a certain darkness.

For relaxing and sleeping, the dairy cows have deep-bedded pens made of straw and lime available. In them they lie softly and have enough space, and movable bars prevent injuries when getting up and bumping.

So that the cows do not slip on the slatted floor, we have laid out and fixed rubber mats in the entire area.

Part of it is cleaned manually twice a day, a large part with the scraper (manure pusher) before milking times. Another big advantage is: When a cow comes into heat (becomes “stierig”), you can observe and react much better than in the tie stall. We have the bull in a single pen and so insemination is also easier than before.

What has changed for us?

• We no longer need to direct the animals to their correct place and tie them up daily when they go to pasture.
• The weekly brushing of the cows is no longer necessary; most of them already go voluntarily to the automatic cow brush.
• milking is much simpler, faster and the risk of injury for us has been reduced. Often they are ticklish at the teats at first or kick out; with the new system from Boumatic, company Andreas Ernst, the danger that the cow hits us with her foot has become much lower.
• and through the mixer wagon and the feed pusher – created by Georg Rieser – feeding has also become easier.

The oldest cows still find the change difficult. Sometimes I have the feeling that Karina in particular wishes for the old barn back. But at least she has already reserved her fixed sleeping place, even if she is no longer the boss. For group-weak animals a loose-housing barn is more difficult, since it very quickly becomes clear who has taken over the boss position and who has to subordinate themselves. Sick animals we put in the old barn or in the single pen next to the bull until they recover, so that they have more peace and are not “disadvantaged” in the loose-housing barn.

With the new loose-housing barn we now have more space in our “old” barn for the dry cows, the heifers, and the calves. You no longer need to put them in igloos or in the dog box when they come into the world. We have set up one area as a calving pen with camera; we no longer need to go to the barn so often at night for direct observation.

The barn was planned by my husband Matthias in collaboration with the company Stockinger. We are pleased that the barn construction was finally completed in January and hope that the work and quality of life have been permanently made easier and that the cows continue to benefit from this change.

Warm greetings from Zittrauerhof
Katharina Schwaiger with family www.gasteinurlaub.com