Free Stall

Free stall confinement is ideal for larger herds from 100 to 5000+ cows. There are many barn layouts but typically cows move freely from the resting stall and pak area to eating and milking area.
Sun-North has designed and installed natural ventilation systems in free stall barns above the Arctic Circle to free stalls in the Middle East. View More....

Tie Stall

Tie stall confinement allows for closer more direct contact with each cow since each cow is tied or locked into her own bedded space. This arrangement means more manual labour but some would argue that better animal c are creates greater milk production. Since labour is more than doubled, it usually means herd size is less then a 100 cows. View More....

Milking Parlour

With Free stall barns the milking herd is moved (2 to 4 times per day) into a holding area and then into a milking parlour and the latest is a robotic milking station. Cows eventually become familiar with this procedure and move readily through the system. Cows are bunched together in the holding area which requires ventilation and then into the parlour itself where 10 to 100 cows can be milked at once. Ventilation is very important for both the comfort of the animals and for the people milking. View More....

Heifer Dry Cow Barn

Normally replacement heifers and the dry cows that are not currently milking are housed in a separate barn which could be in an open pak or a loose stall arrangement. This means a different feed ration and can mean a different means of handling manure. Also, special consideration needs to be given to maternity pens and sick or treatment pens for the herd. View More....

Calf Housing Barn

Keeping calves healthy takes diligence and good ventilation. Calves are very susceptible to scours and respiratory problems. Outside individual calf hutches are an excepted practice but group housing in a warm or cold environment is very possible with proper ventilation and means considerably less labour. View More....