The optimal dairy and cattle unit environment to keep your cows healthy

The quality of your dairy and cattle unit is essential for your animals’ mental and physical wellbeing, and happy and healthy cows produce more milk and grow faster. That is good news for the return on your investment in the buildings for your livestock. Read our specialist’s advice on how you can create the optimal unit.

Invest in animal welfare

Comfortable living conditions are not only beneficial for the wellbeing of your animals, consumers are increasingly conscious about animal welfare. They seek animal products that have been produced in respectful conditions. That is another reason to invest in a sustainable dairy and cattle unit adapted to your animals' natural needs. Think about the best design of your building, considering the minimum space per animal and taking into account the differing ages of the animals and their specific needs. This will help you determine which materials to choose to create optimal living conditions

Avoid moisture and diseases

Animals produce warmth and moisture that tends to condensate on the colder walls and ceilings. The accumulation of moisture on the ceiling then forms droplets that fall on your animals. This doesn’t only generate stress for them, the falling drops are also a major cause of sickness. That’s why it is important to reduce the amount of moisture that condensates on the ceiling of your building. Ventilation is part of the solution, but a clever choice of fibre-cement roofing sheets also keeps your animals dry. Euronit fibre cement sheeting for example can hold up to 25% of their weight in moisture. This keeps the moisture away from the cows, dissipating it through the sheets to provide a healthier environment for them.

Create the right temperature in your cattle unit

It is important for the health of your cows that the temperatures in your dairy and cattle units are comfortable for your animals. The optimal environmental temperature for them lies between 5 °C and 18 °C. This should also be taken into account when choosing your building materials for your housing. Fibre cement has a low temperature conductivity which means it is slow to transfer changes in temperature from outside to inside. Combined with extra insulation, it can therefore offer the optimum protection for your animals depending on your climate and needs. If summers tend to get hot in your area though, you need to get extra cooling mechanisms in your building because your cows will have difficulties regulating their body temperature above 20 °C. Heat stress reduces milk production. Additional ventilation or mist systems can lower the temperatures in a shaded building by 8 °C. And foresee plenty of drinking water.

Maintain healthy and hygienic living conditions

Animals with their behaviour and manure production create quite harsh conditions for any building. So you best choose materials that can take a few blows. Fibre cement profiled sheets are ultra-resistant against chemical substances (e.g. ammonia produced by cattle), but also against rot, corrosion, fungi, and pests (e.g. rodents, insects). This will help keep the conditions in your building as healthy as possible. Just like for you, for Euronit, animal welfare is also at the centre of our concerns. We know how the orientation, ventilation, lighting and wildlife control in your units influences your animals’ wellbeing. If you don’t take care of these factors, this can have costly consequences for your farm in the long term. Euronit has been manufacturing roofing sheets, specifically designed for Irish farmers and our unique climate. Our sheets are a beneficial and safe solution for your agricultural buildings, while keeping construction costs within your budget.