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New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 65, Issue 6, 15 December 1942, Page 379

Our Competition

My Dream Cowshed

YOU certainly let your imagination run riot over this subject, and most of you would need a King Midas purse to make your dreams come true. But there were lots of good points in the entries, and I am sure you will agree that “Susannah’s” idea of a dream cowshed would be a real delight if her dream was ever realised. Second prize goes to “Tiggty Boo,” of Kati Kati. I do hope that after reading these entries you are not discontented with your own cowsheds though!

First Prize

HPHE whole cowshed will be concrete, rough cast outside, with orange coloured tile roof. The inside will be white and glazed, with all woodwork enamelled deep cream. If possible I would not have very much woodwork, and would use chromium in its place. The rails and dummy bails would be chromium plated, with an automatic chromium stool which would swing to and fro as one wished. The handles to the bail doors would be dispensed with, and a press button would control the opening and shutting of doors. The automatic teat washer would also become a floor washer should the latter become soiled during milking. The floor would be smooth coloured concrete, just smooth enough to be safe for workers and cows. A good shelter would afford protection from the bad weather, and keep it cool in the hot weather.

The separator, room would be like the cowshed, with an automatic' washer for the separator and machine parts. The bench and all possible parts would be chromium. A special ice plant would keep the cream cool, and an automatic lift would carry the cream cans when full on to the lorry. A medicine chest fully stocked and labelled Would be there, also facilities for making a cup of tea. But the most important item of my dream' cowshed would be a sickroom for the cows which could be heated or cooled as desired, where all feeds could be prepared, and dressings, etc., done under perfect hygienic conditions. I would have a drinking fountain for the cows, and the yard would be washed by water from a perforated pipe. The yard rails and gates would be cream enamel, and the gates would be controlled in the same way -as the doors. Dream cowshed did I hear you say? Why, of course! Susannah, Waikato. Second Prize THIRST of all the right situation. Not on the top of a hill, or in a hollow necessitating at least one daily climb, but a spot out of the prevailing winds

on reasonably flat ground. There I’d build my cowshed, well made and finished. Two concrete yards behind with sufficient slope to ensure good drainage and easy cleaning, and one in front with a four-foot race leading away from it. This would prevent the tramping up of mud in the vicinity. I would have the shed built so that the hot sun would not stream in relentlessly on busy milkers during morning and afternoon in the summer months. Most important of all, the machinery would be so arranged and guarded that

no child or unwary person could become easily entangled. There would be heaps of water from an all-the-year-round reliable source, and carefully planned drainage would take all the water used for cleaning, etc., right away from where the milk and cream would stand. Now for the inside of the shed. This I would have painted cream all round the top half with the lower concrete walls finished in dark green. With hoses placed handy to each set of bails, these walls, together with dummies in green, could be kept clean without showing the usual stains of lighter paints. At the top of each dummy, a shallow trough would be built to contain licks. . This often encourages an animal to take it and keeps a fidgety cow occupied. I would instal the best machinery and tinware I could buy so that the installations would retain their polish and brightness as long as possible. There would need to be a really good hot water supply in the dairy, which would be roomy enough to allow of work in comfort. A hot

and cold tap over the bench, which would be the right height for washing up, and big windows to let in plenty of light would make things easier. A small built-in cupboard for medicines and two drawers to keep the clean towels and cloths in would make for cleanliness. Dairy walls would be finished in cream, the exterior the same with green roof and doors. Adjoining the dairy I would have a large cream safe, where a constant current of air streaming through would keep any standing cream clean and cool. And outside in a safe place a smooth bench would be built to hold tinware drying in the sun. For the comfort of hot and tired milkers I would build on a hot and cold shower room, a grand refresher after a long day’s work. The inner concreted cowshed would be completed with water troughs so that the waiting cows could drink.

And just to give an artistic finishing touch to my dream cowshed I would hang baskets of green ferns in suitable places in the dairy to give it that cool refreshing appearance we like to associate with places where milk and cream are — Tiggety 800, Kati Kati. “POW spanking” is no drudgery in our cow-byre, for there is ample sloping concrete floor space, and with the plentiful supply of water at each end of the yard this is very easily kept spotless. Concrete paths to and from shed keep both cows and yards clean.

There are hay racks in each bail; the ventilation is good, as also is the drainage. The concrete yard is large and there are chains between yard and byre. Time passes quickly, as we get a variety of entertainment during milking hours from our shed radio, and I am sure the cows too enjoy the music. Our 28 gallon electric heater is a —always hot water on tap. The shed, milk house, and adjoining wash room (set-in enamel wash basin, soap, towels, combs and mirror really, and why not?) are all finished in cream enamel, banded with blue,

and as it all faces the sun, we feel ,the gleaming, interior has fully justified the initial outlay in paint, cleanliness being so important and desirable. The machines of course must go like clockwork —no stripping! — Cecily, Southland. TF dreams come true, my cowshed will be built and fitted so that the cows can be stall fed during the cold winter months. It may cost a little more than an ordinary cowshed, but the cost of covers for the cows will be greatly reduced if needed at all. The floor of the shed will be concrete, or wood well tarred and sanded, and there must be a good drainage system. In front of the bails there will be large

roomy mangers with a division for each cow. In front of the bails there will be a space 3 to 4 feet wide, along which can be taken a wheel truck or barrow, with hay, chaff, or mangolds for the cows. Over the shed there will be a spacious loft for hay and chaff, with a bin and chute for the chaff so that it will not have to be carried down. There will be spouting round the roof, and water tanks to supply plenty of water for washing up, cleaning the shed and yard, and for supplying a drinking trough in the yard. The separator room will be fitted with washing up tubwooden, and rather like an ordinary wooden washing tub, but not quite so deep, a water heater, and two large windows, one set each end of the room to admit a constant current of air.— V.A., South Canterbury.

I Believe. .... I believe in laughter That sometimes covers tears; I believe in love that lasts And deepens through the years. I believe in beauty In all created things A budding flower, a starlit night, A bird on soaring wings; I believe in friendships That stand the test of time, Believing all these things, I must Believe God’s love sublime.