Keeping Your Livestock Sheltered with An Elephant Barn

For the most part when someone pictures a barn, they think of a wooden structure, usually painted red, with hay flooring and a variety of animals living inside. There are many wooden barns used for storing livestock, but are wooden structures the best option? Much like humans livestock require proper shelter to stay healthy and protected, and a wooden barn will not provide this as well as metal barns.

Cows

When farming cattle, they require access to pastures and barns. When cows are kept in a barn, they need a comfortable place to lie down and protection from all weather conditions. They also need access to a well-balanced diet to produce better quality milk. When given the choice cows prefer both barn and pasture life. On warmer days they spend more time in the pasture, and once colder temperatures come around they prefer staying in the barn. With a metal barn, you can allow your livestock to have free range from barn to pasture. If you decide to insulate your metal barn, metal barns provide more warmth for your livestock than wooden barns. Metal barns require much less maintenance and will not catch on fire like a typical wooden barn. If for some reason you still use an oil lamp and you accidentally leave it in your barn at night, you won’t have to worry about your barn becoming engulfed in flames when one of your cows kicks the lamp over. It is very important to provide free range from barn to pasture for your livestock, because studies have shown that free range can improve cow lameness.

Horses

When sheltering horses, most people choose to have separate stalls for each horse, where the animal can move freely. One huge advantage with our metal barns is that they are completely customizable. You can customize your barn to have as many stalls as you need for your horses, while still having an open middle for easy access. Just like any other animal, horses need protection from all the elements. A metal barn will last longer than a wooden barn, and is less likely to leak or collapse from heavy snowfall. Metal barns are also much easier to clean which means that they will most likely smell better than traditional wooden barns.

Pigs

Pigs are very lazy and destructive animals. For the most part pigs are the happiest rolling around in a mud puddle. However, when pigs do decide or need to be sheltered, they need to be placed in something sturdy. Pigs are destructive and it is recommended to shelter them in a structure with a metal framing. In cold climates piglets require heating lamps to stay warm. Using lamps brings up the possibility of fire again and metal barns are better to have in the case of a fire. When pigs are given enough space they will not lay in their own manure reducing the odor.

When deciding what type of building to house your livestock in, you should consider purchasing an elephant barn. They are perfect for any livestock and require much less maintenance than traditional wooden barns. To learn more about metal barns vs. traditional barns visit here.

For more information on our metal barns contact us today!