Assessing environmental quality for the bovine from medical and engineering viewpoints

Abstract

Programs dealing with animal care and disease prevention often employ medication, antibiotics, and vaccines as substitutes for suitable building design, construction and maintenance of proper environments. Design errors which lead to varying levels of economic loss for producers are common. Animal death losses are often used to evaluate building success or failure. Permanent lung damage however is a common sequelae following clinical or subclinical bouts of pneumonia. Limitations on genetic potential are incurred by lung damage with a resulting decrease in milk and / or beef production. A reliable evaluation of an animals environment may be performed using the senses of site, smell, hearing, and touch.