Items to check in tie stall bams:
✓ Cows standing and lying. Do certain cows spend long
periods of time standing up in the stalls but not eating or
drinking?
✓ Rising and reclining. Can cows rise and recline easily
in the tie stalls, with minimum interference from tie chains,
curbs, tie rails, and side bars? Is the stall resting surface
clean dry, and comfortable, conforming to the cow’s body
and providing good footing? Do cows show signs of bumps,
bruises, or other injuries from using stalls?
✓ Water and feed. Are feed and water within easy reach?
Are water bowls clean, do they provide adequate drinking
water on demand, and are they easy for the cow to operate?
Is the feed eating surface smooth and easily cleaned?
Eileen Wheeler, Assistant Professor, Environmental Control
Agricultural & Biological Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
Thinking of a hoop structure for your market pigs? What
designs are people considering in nursery facilities?
Swine housing options range from traditional confine
ment buildings to simpler hoop structures. New manage
ment trends, such as wean-to-finish buildings, are also
getting a lot of attention.
A hoop structure is a simple naturally-ventilated building
with lower construction cost than the traditional mechani
cally-ventilated confinement barn. They have a Quonset
Swine Housing Update
✓ Air quality and quantity. Is fresh dry air always avail
able at the cow’s nose? Does the ventilation system provide
for continuous removal of wet humid air and have various
rates to account for temperature changes? During hot
weather, is there adequate air flow over the cows and fresh
outside air to provide relief from hot humid conditions?
What items are on your inspection sheet and how often do
you evaluate them to assure comfortable productive condi
tions for your cows?
Your cows may not have the opportunity to “select a dif
ferent barn’’ next time they go shopping but they do have
the option of producing less milk if your bam isn’t providing
for their needs.
shape with a tarp cover attached through tubular metal
arches to a low wooden sidewall. Pigs are kept on a well
bedded dirt floor with access to a concrete slab feed and wa
tering area. Manure is handled as a solid.
Hoop structures are most beneficial to producers who
want to keep up-front, fixed costs low and who desire to
enter the market with versatility to match a rapidly chang
ing swine industry. Production is less automated, which re
quires more specialized husbandry skills. With about 180 to
200 pigs in the hoop structure, it can be more difficult to ob
serve individuals.
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