Page 76 - Agriculture_Form_Three

Agriculture for Secondary Schools

Cubicles: These are chambers within a shed where animals sleep at night or rest
during the day. Cubicles vary according to the number of animals you have but the
measurements for each cubicle is 1.2 m x 2.1 m. When it is financially feasible, all
the cubicles have to be shaded and should be paved with good quality concrete.
Cubicles can be bedded with suitable bedding materials to provide warmth and
comfort to the animal. When cubicles are bedded, bedding materials such as straw,
sawdust or wood shavings are periodically placed in the resting area so that manure
builds up in a thick layer. However, this increases the bulk of manure to handle
than wet manure alone. Moreover, bedded sheds are most practical when bedding is
plentiful and cheap.
In addition, when cubicles are too small, injuries to teats will increase and cows may
tend to lie in other areas that are less clean than the cubicles. If the cubicles are too
large, cows will get dirty from manure dropped in the cubicle and more labour will
be expended in cleaning the area. To alleviate this situation, a bar or pole is placed
across the top of the cubicles. This will prevent the cow from moving too far forward
in the cubicle for comfortable lying down movements. Thus, it will encourage her to
take a step backwards when standing so that manure is dropped outside the cubicle.
The bar or pole must, however, not interfere with the cow’s normal lying and rising
movements.

Walking area: This area is also called loafing yard. It is provided inside the building.
It gives the animals a room to walk and exercise. The area must be between the
cubicles and the feeding area to give animals an open space to access sunlight during
the day. The area should have a gentle slope for easy cleaning. Where space is highly
limited, a walking area of 4 to 5 m² per cow can be sufficient but a concrete pavement
of the yard will be highly desirable. Wherever a walking area of 40 to 60 m² per cow
can be available, unpaved yard is satisfactory, provided that the cubicles, feeding area
and other sun shade areas are paved. Whenever there is no great financial constraint,
the walking area should be made of concrete to help in the shaping of the hooves
and avoiding overgrowth and coiling. If the small-scale farmer is unable to afford
an improved structure such as shade or paved area for feeding and walking, the shed
environment can be prevented from becoming intolerable by building mounds of
earth in the yard with drainage ditches between them. With this practice, 20 - 30 m²
walking yard per cow will keep the animals out of the unpleasant muddy looking.
The soil in the mounds can be stabilised by working chopped straw or straw and
manure into the surface. A number of trees in the yard may also provide sufficient
shade in loose shed of this kind.

Feeding area: This area contains water and feed troughs. Water trough is a container
where the animal drinks water from. It should be located within the reach of the
animal. The size of a water trough depends on whether the herd is taken to drink

Student’s Book Form Twos Book Form Three
Student’
65

10/01/2025 12:31
AGRICULTURE FORM 3 9.11.2022.indd 65
AGRICULTURE FORM 3 9.11.2022.indd 65 10/01/2025 12:31