Building a milking parlour - Structural design considerations
2009
Van Caenegem, L., Forschungsanstalt Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon ART, Ettenhausen (Switzerland)
The first prerequisite for smooth milking operations is the correct dimensioning of different milking parlour areas. The structural design of the waiting area, entrance and exit, and any return passages to the feeding area must be such that the flow of animals is disrupted as little as possible. Great attention must be paid to non-slip floors, particularly at steps and ramps. In the interests of rational cleaning the milking pit and animal standing areas should slope gently, walls should be splash-proof. If a milking parlour is incorporated in housing using the open building method, considerable investment can be saved by the absence of ceiling, walls and doors. However such open versions make sense only in frost-free housing systems. Frost-free housing requires minimal thermal insulation and ventilation control. The additional expenditure here should be offset against the extra cost of a closed building shell around the milking parlour. Whether or not the milking parlour needs to be heated depends on its thermal mass and insulation as well as the ambient temperature. Freestanding milking parlours are more susceptible to frost than milking parlours situated in animal housing systems. Respiration and any transpiration by the animals during milking produce great amounts of water vapour which, depending on the volume of air in the milking parlour, result in slower or faster saturation of the air. In winter natural ventilation may be sufficient to limit relative humidity, but in very hot weather the use of fans may be necessary to remove heat from the milking parlour if it has no direct exposure to wind.
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