What is a Herd Home® Shelter?
A Herd Homes® Shelter is a covered area in which animals can relax, be fed, and lie down in comfort - all with a built-in and sustainable effluent system.  

This unique system combines the best features of traditional stand off areas, feed pads, and loafing areas into one innovative farming solution, with the added benefit of protecting the animal from the elements.

How does it work?

A  Herd Homes® shelter has a unique combination of features:

• A Clear and Curved Roof
  
  The curved roof of a Herd Homes® Shelter is made of thick, clear, strong plastic which allows light to pass through.  The UV light kills bacteria and fungi, and assists in the drying of the Herd Homes® floor and the effluent underneath.  The roof curve generates air movement within the shelter which aids in effluent dehydration and also keeps stock warm and dry in winter and significantly cooler in summer
  
• Open sides and feed strips along the side 
  With no walls, air flows freely into the shelter. Along the sides of the Herd Homes® concrete feed platforms give the cows access to feed from within the Herd Homes® Shelter, while the farmer services these areas from the outside.  Feeding out is simple, efficient, quick, and effective.
  
• The Concrete Grated Floor
  
  The floor of a Herd Homes® shelter is made up of panels of pre-stressed concrete grates.  These grates sit on top of two long concrete bunkers into which the cows’ effluent drops and is stored.  A combination of the sunlight, air movement and stock treading establishes a form of “bedding mix” over the concrete grates providing a comfortable surface for stock to stand, lie down, calve on, and walk.  This bedding mix has to be encouraged at times with additional straw or hay.
  
• A built in Effluent System
  Underneath the slatted concrete floor panels is a sealed double concrete bunker. Here the effluent dehydrates and consolidates until it is removed at the farmer’s convenience. Recent developments now enable users to separate the liquid effluent off for more immediate use as a nitrogen fertiliser source. All this is achieved without the need for pumps, added water, or regular manual intervention.
• The Effluent Treatment 

  A very natural and simple system.

  • The effluent along with any feed debris is trampled or drops through the slats.
    

  • From wet slurry it will then dehydrate into a dryer easy to use product.

  • This dryer effluent can then be recovered quite quickly by a standard 60hp FEL tractor once the slats have been removed. The same tractor equipped with hay forks can remove the slats of the floor.
    The removal of the processed effluent will only need to be done once a year and in many cases not for several years.

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