The concept of regular dairy farming is not so lucrative. On account of high operating cost including maintenance of cattle, their fodder, medical attention that they require or other allied problems farmers tend to loose interest in the dairy farming business eventually.
In order to prevent this, a team of veterinary experts from Govind Milk conducted thorough and extensive research over a period and devised a unique low operational cost concept of loose or free housing. It facilitates free movement of cattle/livestock in a designated area delivering comfort & access to water & feed. Lesser dependency on labour coupled with improved milk quality and quantity has resulted in more than 500 such loose housing barns systems being operational successfully.
Research indicates that a minimum of 250 to 300 sq.ft. of land is sufficient per animal. The total area depending on the number of cattle is demarcated with fencing made from low cost resources available with the farmer like bamboo, dried branches of trees to name a few. The cattle/livestock are provided with water and feeding ducts. To protect the animals from heat during day time some natural or artificial shade is provided. The natural instinct of an animal to rub his body against some available hard surface at intervals is taken care of with a brush mounted strategically in the loose houses.
The following structure shows the design and implementation of the free or loose house.
housing systems and requirements for dairy animals
â—ˆ Capital investment required is very less compared to the benefits it offers
â—ˆ Animal gets to live in a natural environment with some added comforts
â—ˆ Leads to significant increase in milk production
â—ˆ Increase in milk quality in terms of FAT, SNF and low antibiotic residue
â—ˆ Reduction in rate of diseases found in the animals
â—ˆ Considerable reduction in labor costs
â—ˆ Increased conception rate in animals
â—ˆ Easy let down of milk due to comfort in animals