Housing
Housing practices vary widely from place to place. In general,
however, stock raisers do the following:
Protection
· People protect their animals
from rain, sun, wind, cold, predators and thieves. For example: they may plant
thorny bushes around the animal shed to keep predators and thieves away.
· They build a shed, house, barn
or other structure to shelter the animals. Or sometimes, if people's homes are
raised on stilts, they keep their livestock under the home.
· In many areas, farmers plant
certain trees to provide shade near the livestock shed.
· They plant neem, eucalyptus or
Ocimum sanctum around the shed to repel insects.
· They light smoky fires near or
under the shed to drive away ticks, lice and insects.
· They do not plant mango, curry
leaf (Murraya koenigii) or bamboo near the shed, as these species attract snakes
and bats. For the same reason, they do not stock large amounts of firewood, hay
or straw near the shed.
Space
· Farmers provide enough space
for each animal to lie down and stand, turn around and defecate without the dung
soiling itself or other animals.
· They avoid overcrowding.
· They provide adequate
ventilation and light.
Feed and water
· People provide a container
with clean drinking water.
· In certain
areas, farmers build a small feeding manger to hold green or dry fodder.
Hygiene
· Traditionally in many areas,
farmers slope the floor of the shed so the urine and dung can flow out. This
helps keep the shed clean.
· They use straw from rice,
wheat and other plants for bedding. They replace this regularly with fresh
straw.
· The farmers clean away dung,
urine and mud each morning.
· In some countries, they apply
a layer of fresh mud on the floor of the shed.
· They may regularly sprinkle
dry lime (calcium hydroxide) or powdered limestone on the floor 2-3 times a week
as a disinfectant and to repel flies. Once a month, they wash the walls with
limestone powder mixed with water.
· In India, farmers mix a
handful of dung in a bucket of water and sprinkle this mixture on the floor.
Over time, this produces a hard flooring that is easy to keep clean. It also
keeps the ground even, so animals will not slip.
· They isolate or quarantine
sick animals from other animals.
Some examples of ruminant housing
Housing types vary widely from place to place. Here are a few
exemples.
Tribal areas of India
This shelter, built in the village near the owner's home, houses
10-20 animals. The roof is made of dried palmyra tree leaves (which are
rainproof) or dried grasses. The posts are of bamboo, palmyra tree wood, teak,
rose wood, or other strong wood. The floor is of mud. The animals are kept in
the shed during the night and let out to graze in the forest during the day. The
shed is cleaned and fresh mud is put on the floor before the animals return. The
shed provides protection from the sun and rain, yet allows sufficient light and
air to get in. It is very cool inside.
Tribal areas of India
Coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, India.
This area is prone to cyclones and has very heavy rainfall (more
than 1800 mm per year). The round, conical shape provides minimum resistance to
cyclones and the sloping roof reaching almost to the ground prevents the roof
from blowing away. This shelter can house 2-3 animals. It is usually located in
the fields. The roof is made of palmyra tree leaves and the frame of palmyra
wood. The floor is of mud. The shelter is cool in summer and warm in winter.
However, it is dark inside and ventilation is sometimes inadequate. A container
of water is placed inside, but there is no manger for fodder.
Coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh,
India.
Deccan (India) and Sri Lanka
This shed is attached to the owner's house and is made of
bricks, mud, wood or stone. It houses 1-2 animals. The roof is of dried wild
hemp stalks or other grasses. The floor is of mud or brick, and it slopes so
mud, dung and urine flow out. A feeding manger and a container for water are
built in The shed obviously is well-ventilated and cool.
Deccan (India) and Sri Lanka
Philippines
Many farmers in the Philippines and Laos keep their animals
under the house, or in a room next to their own living area. The house is made
of slatted bamboo and/or wood. The roof is thatched with local grasses. The
animals body heat helps warm the house. Owners can give care to the animals very
easily. However, pests and diseases such as mange, leishmaniasis and flies can
spread from animals to humans. On the other hand, farmers in the Philippines say
that—although the goats they keep under their houses have a strong and
unpleasant odor—the smell helps keep mosquitoes away from the home.
Philippines
Gir Forest, Gujarat, Western India
Farmers in the Gir Forest build a circular, thorny fence of
Acacia arabica branches. They keep their buffaloes inside during the night to
protect them from lions and wolves. During the day, the buffaloes are let out to
graze in the forest, where they seek shade under the trees: Farmers throughout
India build a thorny fence or plant cacti around their own and their animals'
housing to deter predators.
Gir Forest, Gujarat, Western India
Sri Lanka
Farmers build a corral of trees, logs and wire. The animals rest
inside the enclosure in a shed made of wood or bamboo, roofed with grass or
leaves. This shed is built at the top of the slope, so water and waste materials
run out of it.
Sri Lanka
Sometimes, farmers tie their animals under a tree. In Thailand,
they use a special bamboo spring on the tether. This prevents the rope from
twisting and becoming tangled.
Throughout South and Southeast Asia
Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand
Sheep and goat pens are often built on stilts. The floor is made
of slatted wood or bamboo, so that the droppings and urine fall through. In
India and Indonesia, there is a pit below to collect these valuable organic
materials. The manure can be removed easily from beneath the pen for spreading
in the fields. The roof is thatched with grass. The owners or their children cut
grass from roadsides and field boundaries and put it in a manger attached to the
pen for the animals to eat. Surplus grass can be stored at one end of the shed.
This pen protects the animals from thieves and predators. It is clean and
hygienic. In Indonesia and Sri Lanka, animals of different ages and sexes may be
kept separate using dividers within the house. Pregnant animals and mothers with
newborns are also separated from other animals.
Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and
Thailand
Deccan, India
Semi-migratory shepherds use small branches to make moveable,
collapsible fences. They erect these in the field to keep their goats and sheep
in at night. The shepherd sleeps in the small shed in the center of the
enclosure. During the day, the animals are released from the enclosure and
allowed to graze. Outside, only animals that are too young to graze are kept
inside the shed during the day with a shepherd who guards and feeds them.
The shepherd moves the enclosure around the field, so that the
entire field is manured at night. The farmer pays the shepherd for this manure.
Deccan, India
Throughout India
Farmers build a thorny fence of Acacia arabica or Acacia
farnesiana around their goat houses to deter thieves and predators. The house
itself is round and made of bamboo, wood and mud. The roof is thatched with
palmyra leaf or grass. The floor is of mud. Animals of all ages are housed
together. Some farmers clean out the dung; others use the dung as bedding.
Throughout India
Various types of roofing materials
Various types of roofing
materials
