Here is the Wagner Farm barn, still seen closed at noon today. No cows were sighted in the pasture so apparently they were still inside today until the barn was seen being opened and the cows released at about 2:30PM. The cows were seen in the pasture yesterday until the barn was closed at approximately 5PM and the barn was still seen closed throughout the morning and early afternoon. If not released until about 2:30PM today, that would mean that apparently the cows were in the barn for about 21 hours straight. If so, and as this is a stanchion barn, this would seem that most of the cows would have then been neck-locked in stanchions for that amount of time? And Callie (aka Cayla) the calf, as she has been since being separated in August from her mother, is still in her own solitary stall. The cows appeared ecstatic to have been let out of the barn after what appears to be an extraordinary amount of hours in there. Daisy was cheerfully galloping across the pasture; even the horses were watching her. Buttercup went up to a pile of snow and picked some up and was tossing it in the air. All were seen walking around and enjoying the freedom of the pasture. The question is were they indeed in the barn for some 21 hours straight as it appears they were, and if so, why? The temperature was not extremely cold today, there was no biting wind, and the sun was shining. This old-fashioned stanchion dairy barn that is about 70+ years old and hasnt even been upgraded by Wagner Farm with basic electricity, represents dairy industry standards that many do not consider as meeting what can be considered to be humane standards of the 21st century - especially at a tax payer purchased and supported farm in a generally affluent area. A pasture run-in shelter, which has been brought up to Wagner Farm numerous times and still has yet to be installed, would not only provide pasture shelter for inclement weather conditions but would greatly contribute to housing needs for the cows - and horses - for various other times so that they would not have to be kept in stanchions for extended periods of time just because they needed to be contained for some reason. A pasture run in shelter can also be built with doors - and normally kept open - that could be closed to keep animals contained if need be, but still be outdoors and free from stanchions. freefromharm.org/tag/wagner-farm/ james-mcwilliams/?s=wagner+farm&x=8&y=16
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 01:49:35 +0000
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