Cattle Barn Kits

Cattle Barn Kits

Customize a livestock barn on elephantbarns.com!

Designing Cattle Barn Kits: How to Care for your Cows with Design

Picking the perfect cow barn from a variety of cattle barn kits is easy when you get to design all the features of your barn yourself! The Elephant Barns online Build ID system shows a model of a barn onscreen as you update its features, displaying the exact price and look of a barn instantly.  Try out as many barn designs as you like, order a barn with a 10% down payment, and have your barn kit delivered and installed for free!

You’re the expert designer of your cattle barn. But just to help out, we’ve put together a list of big picture things to keep in mind when designing a custom diary cow barn or a cattle barn.

  • Drainage. Not all cattle barn kits come with proper drainage. Pick a roof style that will keep your cows dry in a rain storm and that will keep the snow off their backs in the winter. Valley style cattle barn kits with a two plane sloping roof provide the most controlled drainage and have the most strength to hold up a heavy snow load. Elephant Barns also offers many other custom roof plans that don’t appear on our website. Get in touch with us (888-517-3481) for more roofing and drainage options that are available.
  • Bunk Space. It’s ideal to give cows a little more space in their bunk, even when you’re working on a budget. This will mean happier cows, higher production, and will make your job easier. To produce at the most efficient level, dairy cows need at least 10 hours of lying time a day.
  • Temperature Regulation. The ideal temperature for optimum milk production by dairy cows is about 25 degrees Fahrenheit. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to keep your barn air conditioned. As long as the temperature is between 25 and 65 degrees and the cows have plenty of access to water and shade, you’ll be in good business. The University of Missouri has many tips for controlling cattle barn temperature. Elephant Barns also can recommend insulation for the summer and the winter.
  • Concrete floors are important, both for you and your cows. After a couple years, however, concrete floors can get quite slippery, so the floor either has to be cleaned or covered with an adhesive surface. Rubber is an inexpensive, effective option which can be used in holding pens, feeding areas, and free stalls if possible. Let Elephant Barns know what you want, and we’ll be glad to coordinate with a concrete flooring expert.
  • Watch your Cows. They’ll tell you if they’re uncomfortable! As a rancher, one of the best ways to increase production is to make sure that your cows are happy. Studies show that they’ll produce more milk and be stronger, healthier animals if they feel comfortable in the space that cattle barn kits assign for them.  For instance, if they won’t lie down in their stalls, they just stand and stare at you all day, the cows are telling you that there’s a problem with their stalls.  Ignoring signs like this one will hold your farm back, and prevent you from getting the most of out of your cows. It’s in your best interest to care for your cows. Luckily, with a structure as adaptable as an Elephant Barn, you’ll be able to upgrade and reorient parts of your barn based on how your cows react to it. That’s the versatility of steel cattle barn kits at work for you!

For more helpful tips about cattle barn kits, livestock barns, and agriculture barns, get in touch with us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

 

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Elephant Structures provides real-time pricing on metal carports, metal garages, and metal barns through Carport.com and ElephantBarns.com. Elephant's patent-pending BuildID system provides carport buyers with the ability to create, customize, and see exactly what they are buying. It's the easy way to buy a metal building...

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