—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 29,1977
18
• ••••••• •••••••••••€)••••••#••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Confined animals require better management
Cold weather brings a
whole new series of
management problems and
decisions to be made
regarding the health of the
livestock. And most of these
problems arise not because
of the cold weather but
because the animals need to
be confined to a greater
degree than during the
warmer periods of the year.
Confinement is not a
necessity. Many animals
will do as well or better in
the open as long as there is
some protection from the
harshest weather, adequate
water available at all tunes,
and a little extra feed to
compensate for the extra
energy needed to maintain
body temperature.
For the animals confined
to buildings, however, the
challenge to keep them
healthy requires more and
better management,
precautions, and constant
vigilance. The advice of
“dean, dry, well ventilated
and free from drafts” must
have been written and read
thousands of times. But their
importance; especially
“well ventilated and free
from drafts,” cannot be
stressed too much.
“Clean” is most important
for infant animals as the
newborn is very susceptible
to many diseases. As it
develops strength and
matu r es it also picks up
resistance to many of the
diseases that constantly
challenge it, and cleanliness
becomes less important. Not
that one should become
sloppy and allow the animals
to wallow in sludge, but the
time which one can allot to
keeping areas clean should
be concentrated on the areas
where the very young are
raised.
*
sgk EVERY Si %!^
WEDNESDAY IS
m* DAIRY
CT DAY
AT NEW HOLLAND SALES STABLES, INC.
New Holland, PA
If you need 1 cow or a truck load, we have from
100 to 200 cows to sell every week at your price
Mostly fresh and close springing Holstems
Cows from local farmers and our regular
shippers including Marvin Eshleman, Glenn Fite,
Kelly Bowser, Bill Lang, Blame Hotter, Dale
Hostetter, H D Matz, and Jerry Miller
SALE STARTS 12;30 SHARP
Also Every Wednesday, Hay, Straw &
tar Corn Sale 12 00 Noon
All Dai'7 Cows & Heifers must be
eligible for Pennsylvania Health Charts
For arrangements for special sales or herd
dispersals at our barn or on your farm contact
Abram Oiffenbach, Mgr
717-354-4341
Norman Kolb
717 397 5538
“Dry” needs no ex
planation. Again, this is
most important for the very
young but should not be
neglected at any age.
“Well ventilated and free
from drafts” is most im
portant at any age. Animals
in a confined area without
any ventilation or without
adequate ventilation are
asking for trouble. They are
constantly breathing the
gases and fumes from their
own feces and urine. Am
monia and the other gases
are very irritating to the
lungs and makes them very
susceptible to any infectious
organism which may be
present. They are constantly
rebreathing their own air
instead of fresh air,
depleting the amount of
oxygen and increasing the
amount of toxic gases taken
in. Just remember, if you
walk into a building or pen
and feel the slightest bit
uncomfortable because of
stuffiness, stagnant air, or
air that is actually burning
to the nose, these animals
are living under these
conditions 24 hours a day.
They cannot just walk away
from it. These are the places
where the animals are often
sick or just not doing well,
treated and treated and
treated, only to hear that the
medicine just must not be
any good.
So what to do about poor
ventilation. Open some
windows or knock a hole in
the wall? In comes bad Mr.
Draft. What is .a draft? If you
are standing in a building
and can feel air moving
against your body that feels
cool to the body, you are in a
draft. Again, if you feel
chilled or uncomfortable,
remember the animals are
under those conditions 24
hours a day. Drafts cause
chills and excess heat loss
and are particularly harmful
if the animals are in a wet
environment yet. The only
time drafts are not par
ticularly harmful is when the
weather is hot (80’s or 90’s or
PEARSON BROS. ANNOUNCES THE
FIRST DEALERSHIP IN
LANCASTER COUNTY
SALES
SERVICE
PARTS
COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE... A GOOD SUPPLY
OF BETTER-BILT EQUIPMENT & PARTS, ETC.
★ FARROWING CRATES * PIT CHOPPER PUMPS ★ LAGOON PUMPS
★ TRANSFER CHOPPER PUMPS * HIGH PRESSURE PUMPS
SATISFIED BUYERS OF BETTER-BILT SPREADERS
Howard Longenecker, Elizabethtown, Pa. Dutch Valley Farms, Manheim
Wilford Hoff, Westminster, Md. Tom Sharp, Ewing, 111.
Ervin Hurst, Ephrata Amos Brubaker, Ewing, 111.
Daniel 8011, Mt. Airy, Md. Emmanuel Allgyer, Johnsonville, 111
Barry Haldeman, Manheim John Sensenig, Lititz
BRICKERVILLE EQUIPMENT
RD#l Lititz, Pa., Vs mile East of Brickerville on Rt. 322 717-626-6198
higher) that the air moving
over the body is not ap
preciably cooler than the
body surface itself.
What, then is good ven
tilation? Good ventilation is
providing fresh air cir
culated in such a manner
THIS IS OUR FIRST SEMI-LOAD
BETTER-BILT EQUIPMENT
FOR PARTS & SERVICE SEE:
Edwin N Kurtz, RDI Ephrata. 717-733-8193. Better-Blit Distributor
that one cannot tell that the
air is moving. Exhaust fans
are ideal for this. Fresh air
is drawn in through cracks
and crevices and small
openings and drifts through
the building, replacing the
older air as it is expelled.
Windows and doors can be
used to provide ventilation m
the absence of fans, but
should always be opened on
the side or sides away from
the prevailing winds at the
time. This requires much
attention as a shift in the
wind may require some to be
closed or others to be opened
during the course of a day.
Always check for drafts in
any area where there will be
animals.
When planning new
buildings this should be one
of the prime considerations,
adequate ventilation.
Consultation with the Ex-
OF
tension office or other
qualified individual will be
the most profitable time
spent in the design of a new
building.
Clean, dry, well ventilated
and free from drafts. These
eight words are the key
towards healthy con
finement at any time of the
year.
Aflatoxins are a
metabolism byproduct from
a common mold or fungus.
They occur primarily in feed
grains and high-energy feed
products. Such con
tamination has been running
high this Fall in harvested
com from Georgia, Florida
and certain other states in
the Southeast. But it does not
appear to be a serious
problem in Maryland-grown
com.
SALES
SERVICE
PARTS