Translations:Manfred Klett: Von der Agrartechnologie zur Landbaukunst/1083/en

The cattle deep-litter house should be designed so that the manure cushion — allowing ten square metres of movement and lying space per animal — can build up to its full height over six months until the animals go out to pasture in spring; the following three months over summer serve for full ripening. Interim mucking-out and intermediate storage in field clamps causes considerable substance losses. It proves unproblematic to keep cows weighing 500 to 600 kg through the cold and cooler months on the manure cushion as it grows upward, without their breaking through. With the warming of March and April the decomposition of the upper straw layers accelerates, and this can lead to the formation of sunken tread-paths and lateral bulges. This softening can be delayed until the animals go out to pasture by applying in good time a barrier layer of loam, clay or wood chips.