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It is important to measure any livestock building to ensure that floor space and air volume are adequate for the animals you intend to house.
Assessing your roof volume = roof height x roof area x 0.5 Assessing your main building volume = height x floor area Assessing your floor area = length x width of the building. Understanding the volumes of air in buildings is critical to meeting welfare standards and assessing the ventilation needs of the building. Height is important in providing adequate volumes of air. Ideally the height of the eaves in buildings for dairy heifers should be at least 4.5m. This also ensures good access for modern farm machinery. Check that the ridge opening is adequate for the width of the building. Ensure the inlet opening below the eaves is at least four times more than the ridge space to ensure a steady supply of fresh air.
Rules of Thumb
Air Space
Calf up to 90kg = 10m3 Calf 90 -150kg = 13m3 Larger animals = 15m3 Check that heifers are grouped according to size and are housed in appropriate group sizes. Check that there is adequate access to feed and that any wastage through poor trough or barrier design is minimised. Check that lighting sufficient to ensure all heifers can be inspected day or night. Check that bedding is adequate to keep floors dry throughout the winter.
Ventilation
How well air flows through the buiding is critical to protecting against disease and respiratory disorders. An open ridge will always be an outlet for stale air. This is why it is vitally important to have a generous opening. Testing can be conducted using smoke pellets, which are inexpensive and can be easily obtained. Check how quickly smoke clears from a building and whether there are areas where smoke lingers. An early muggy morning is best for smoke testing. This is when the worst conditions can be observed. If smoke clears completely within 2-3 minutes and there are no corners where it lingers, the building can be considered fit for purpose as far as ventilation is concerned. Wherever and whenever smoke lingers in a building it indicates areas where the organisms causing pneumonia and respiratory diseases will also linger and spread from heifer to heifer. The removal of roof ridges will often remedy the problem.
Ventilation ridge opening
Calf up to 90kg = 5m2/100 animals
Larger animals = 8m2/100 animals
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