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Agriculture for Secondary Schools

with loose housing for dairy cattle, competition for feed may be exhibited, attention
of individual animal may not be possible, more floor space is required and the system
is not suitable for temperate regions. Moreover, a separate milking shed is needed
for milking of animals.

Loose housing for beef cattle

In beef cattle farming, loose housing is practised in simpler forms compared to
dairy farming. The common housing practice in beef cattle in Tanzania is to confine
animals only during the night. During the day, animals spend most of time grazing in
paddocks, rangeland or any other reserved pasture. Loose beef cattle sheds include
traditional kraal as well as other simple sheds. These sheds may have complete
solid walls and completely open or half open sides with single or double slope roof.
In open feedlots which are common in tropics, the housing facilities mainly used
are fences, water and feed troughs as well as passageways for feed distribution.

However, in high rainfall areas, shaded sheds with full-open or half-open sides have
to be constructed in feedlots to protect the fattening animals from rain. Figure 4.7
shows an example of kraal while Figure 4.8 illustrates simple beef cattle shed with
a single slope roof which is in a paddock.

Figure 4.7: Kraal

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