When building a new barn for dairy cows and young cattle, the relevant standards and regulations must be taken into account in order to ensure maximum comfort for the animals and minimum work for the farmer, and to minimise the release of harmful substances into the environment. The barn should be designed to provide adequate natural lighting, effective ventilation, sufficient space and general comfort for all categories of animals. Based on a review of the literature, we have described different housing systems for cattle as well as some innovative solutions in terms of automation, robotization and the reduction of ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions. In the second part of the paper, we described the current situation on the family farm Gradišnik and developed a concept for a new barn for dairy cows, as the existing barn is outdated and does not provide adequate conditions for the animals, as they cannot fully express their natural behaviour as is possible in modern barns. In addition, the existing barn requires a high proportion of manual labour. The new barn will provide space for 60 dairy cows, including dry cows. Milking will be carried out using a milking robot. Slurry separation will also be introduced in the new barn. The existing old barn will be converted into a loose housing system and is intended for rearing heifers as a herd replacement and for calves. It will be equipped with adjustable internal partitions to meet the spatial requirements of the different animal categories. Feeding will take place via the existing Feedstar feeding belt. We will use individual pens for calves up to two weeks of age.
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