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A gift to the museum by an anonymous donor.
Artifact #: 98799
This item was very common in New Brunswick barns in past years, and, according to Ag Canada, nearly two thirds of Canadian dairy farms currently use tie-stall housing.
In stanchion barns, dairy cows are tethered by their necks to the stall where they rest, are fed, watered and milked. Most barns have 2 rows of stanchions with the cows either facing each other, with feeding space between them and manure gutters behind, or the cows facing the outside wall with the manure gutter in the middle.
Stanchions ensure all cattle have access to feed and water in a space that is not overcrowded. Farmers have easy access to the cows for milking. However, their movement is restricted, making lying down and getting back up sometimes difficult and cows are not able to socialize.
The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) released its Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle, "Effective April 2027, cows may not be tethered continuously. New barns will be required to allow “daily, untethered freedom of movement and social interactions year-round,” the code says."
For more information on these changes, click on the link below -