US3556055A

US3556055A - Building for animals

Info

Publication number: US3556055A
Application number: US809234A
Authority: US
Inventors: Caleb M Wenger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-03-21
Filing date: 1969-03-21
Publication date: 1971-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-19

Abstract

The animals'' bedding stalls are under a 10* downwardly northerly sloping two-thirds of the main roof; the feeding portion is under a 20* downwardly southerly sloping one-third of the main roof. The highest edge of the northwardly sloping portion overhangs the highest edge of the southwardly sloping portion, leaving a permanent opening in between, approximately 18 inches across. The building''s south end is permanently open in contrast to the other ends. The roof is fluted in the north-south direction, and vents are openable under the roof at the north end.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor CalebM.Wenger Lancaster Pike and Cardinal Drive, RD. 1,

. Quarryville, Pa. 17566 [21] Appl. No. 809.234 [22] Filed Mar. 21, 1969 [45] Patented Jan. 19, 1971 [54] BUILDING FOR ANIMALS 10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

52 u.s.c1 119/16, 52/96 51 1m.c1 ..F24f07/00, E0411 07/02, A01 k 01/00 501 FieldofSearch .1 119/15,16;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,411,446 4/1922 Martin 52/18 2,549,155 4/1951 Ash 119/15 2,808,027 10/1957 Inghram 1 19/23 Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery At!0rney.lackson, Jackson and Chovanes ABSTRACT: The animals bedding stalls are under a 10 downwardly northerly sloping two-thirds of the main roof; the feeding portion is under a 20 downwardly southerly sloping one-third of the main roof. The highest edge of the northwardly sloping portion overhangs the highest edge of the southwardly sloping portion, leaving a permanent opening in between, approximately 18 inches across. The building's south end is permanently open in contrast to the other ends. The roof is fluted in the north-south direction, and vents are openable under the roof at the north end.

PATENTEUJAMQIQH 4 355151355 snmanm H'I'IIIIIIHIH Q;

93 Mum me 13%? I CALEB M. WENGER BUILDING FORANIMALS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEFDESCRIB'IEIONDE THEDRAWINGS.

Inzthe. drawingswe have chosen'toillustrate certainonly of. the; particular embodiments in, which my, invention. may. appear the, forms shown beingchosen from the standpoints of convenience in. illustration. satisfactory operation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

FIG]. I; isxanoverall perspective viewofi one embodiment of the building setup of' my invention. viewedsfrom above with the. eye looking in, a, rather northeasterly direction and thus looking; rather. toward the southwestivardly corner of the building: While this is a specific embodiment differing somewhat from those of the plan-sections further on, itgives. an overall generalized ideawhichis useful'in considering also.

the, other specific, embodiments.

FIG. 2, isan enlarged crosssectionalview. on. the northsouth line2,2 of FIG. I.

FIG'. 3jis.an enlargedfragmentary perspective of a portion of; the roofzopening, which would apply, generally wall the embodiments. I J

FIG. 4is astill further enlargedxfragmentary sectional view alongthe line 4-4of FIG. 3'.

FIG. SQIS a. horizontal sectional view looking downward, or inother-words-in plan, of the, lower part of' another particular embodimentof my invention. 7 FIG. 6' is a view similar to FIG. 5 of still another embodimentiof my invention. I

FIG17 isaview similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 of still another embodimentof my invention.

As already indicated, FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 all differ at least somewhat from the embodiment of FIG. I, but are close enough. to it so that the perspective view of FIG. 1 will give an ideaofthegeneral roof structure, for example, which is above what isshownin these plansections.

FIG. 8" is a fragmentary perspective view of the supporting structure of stillianother embodiment of my invention, which however, like, FIG. 7, is rather close to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 8 has part of the roof portions broken away.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic showing of a cross-sectional aspect, along a north-southline, of the form of FIG. 6, to bring out airflow and the relation between the ,mainpart of the building, and the, sun's rays as it might be in a particular intermediate part of the United States, such as the residence of application near Quarryville in southern Pennsylvania, when the sun ismore or less at its lowestmeridian position of the year.

FIG. 10 isasimilar view to FIG. 9, but when the sun ismore or less at its highest meridian position of the year.

In, the detailed description, like things are generally designated by. the same; reference numbers, and this includes not only. cases where they are absolutely identical, but also may include cases where there are visible differences between them that are not vital to the invention.

DESCRIPTIONOF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS AND THE LIKE Describing in illustration but not in-limitation and, referring to the drawings:

The embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.. to which FIGS. 3 and 4 likewise apply as they do to all the other embodiments, will give agood-overall idea of the generalsetup in all of the embodiments, except as specifically indicated otherwise, especially as to the question of:the silo and silage conveyor.

In it, there is a main building portion,20 in which the cows or other animals bedding stalls 21 and feeding troughs 22 are located. Where it is used for cows, as is preferable, there will also usually be a smaller building portion 25 preferably in tegrally connected withthe mainbuilding portion 20. in which the milking Ofzthfl cows will take place.

Silo 27, for material for feed, is conveniently close to the feed trough 22. and silage conveyor 28 takes the feed from the lower part ofthe silo to one endofthe feed trough. along the lower part of. the trough. of-which it will preferably be con veyed by. an automatic conveyor. such as a screw conveyor. not shown. I

The overallsetupis so placed andconstructed that roof 30- of the main building is made up of two separate portions. each sloping down from. more or less of an intermediate line running generally east and west, portion 31 sloping down, generally northwardly,,and portion32 sloping down generally, southwardly..

The smaller part 25 ofthe building, for milking of the cows, is shown as. extending out to the west from the northwest corner of the main portion of the building, while the silo 27 is shown to the south of the southeastern part of the main portion of the building, but these particular specific locations of these subsidiary building structures, the smaller portion 25 and silo 27, can be varied if desired, or the milking facilities can even be put inside the main building, as for example, in its northerly, center, if desired.

The northerly sloping part 31 of the roof of the main part of the building slopes down at an angle of 5 to 15, and preferably at an angle of l,0, from the horizontal, and covers preferably approximately two-thirds of the main portion of the building but at any rate the greater part of the main portion of the building. The southerly sloping portion 32 of the roof of the main part of the building slopesdown at an angle ofl5 to 25, and preferably at an angle of 20 from the horizontal, and preferably covers approximately one-third of the mainportion of the building but at any rate the lesser part of the main portion of the building. The highest edge 33 of northerly sloping roof portion 31 is decidedly higher than the highest edge 34 of southerly portion 32, there being an opening 35 running approximately east and west between them.

This opening between the respective topmost edges of the roof portions runs the entire east-west distance of the main portion of the building and is preferably from about a foot and a half to about a foot and three-quarters from roof portion to roof portion in the forms shown, depending essentiallyupon the number of cows intended to be housed in a give given length of building. For example, if there are three east-west bedding stall lines, as in the forms of FIGS. l--2 and of FIG. 7,, it should preferably be about a foot and a half. If there arefour east-west stall lines, as in the form of FIG. 6, it should preferably be about a foot and three-quarters. If a form should be constructed calling for greater or lesser numbers of cows in a given length, adjustment should be made accordingly.

The southerly sloping portion of the roof goes up to .a line which is entirely. under the northerly sloping portion of the roof, so that the opening between them, if considered in the form of a plane, is a plane extending downwardly and northerly from the top most edge 3.3 of the northerly portion of the roof. This plane preferably extends downwardly and northerly to a sufficient extent to. give an overhang'of the northerly portion of the roof as compared to the southerly portion of 6 to 8 inches, depending on the size of the opening.

The roof surface 37 in both portions is preferably in a dieformed type of shape which is more or less fluted, with the flutings extending in a north-south direction, the profile being best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and involving flat trough bottoms 39 and flat top portions 41 with sloping interconnecting sheet walls 43 between, the sloping walls being preferably at an angle closer to the vertical than the horizontal, thus giving a somewhat open, three-sided trough arrangement down from the tops. These flutings run the entire distance of the respective roof portions from north to south and are in a roof sheeting material of more or less uniform thickness, so that the underneath surface 43 is similarly fluted.

The main portion of the building has walls 60 on the northerly side 61 of the building, the easterly side 62 of the building and the westerly side 63 of the main portion of the building, except where particular openings such as doors or interconnection with the smaller portion 25 of the building are involved. The south side 65 of the main portion of the building is entirely and permanently open.

Sloping north-south beams or rafters 67 underlie the northerly portion of the roof, and are supported by north wall 61 and columns 69, which are at their northerly and middle end, respectively, in the case of the form of FIGS. 1 to 2. North-south sloping beams or rafters 71 underlie the southerly roof portion and are supported by columns 73 toward the south end. The southerly underlying beams 71 extend across the opening 34 to join with the underside northerly underlying beams 67 at 75, the northerly underlying beams 67 extending beyond in overhang 76. Thus the two sets of beams help support each other at or near their highest points. On top of these sloping beams 67 and 71 are east-west cross beams 77, often called nailers," which are supported by the sloping beams and in turn support the roof sheeting itself.

The north-south sloping beams are preferably wide-flange I2-inch-steel beams or something of the kind, and the cross beams are preferably of wood.

The roof is preferably of galvanized steel sheet, or vinyl coated galvanized steel sheet, which by means of diecasting has this fluted form. However, on the northerly sloping portion of the roof there are rectangular skylight portions 79 made of translucent plastic, such as fiberglass plastic, in a similarly fluted form which fits correspondingly into the metal part of the roof to form a permanent part of it differing merely in material, with the individual flutings preferably running continuously the entire north-south distance of the roof portion. The skylights form a permanent continuous part of the structure, which will however, of course, admit light.

The southerly sloping portion of the roof of the main part of the building may optionally be painted black, to increase its heat absorption and thus the heating effect on the air immediately underneath.

Braces 81, preferably formed of angle irons and rods, extend between the columns and their respective beams to help the overall structure; and there is preferably also sloping cross bracing between the various columns in a given column line and the sloping beams at the next column, in the line, and oblique cross braces between one sloping beam and another, in a manner well known in the art which is not shown.

arrangement of the stalls 21 in the form of FIGS. 1 and 2 is the same as that shown in the somewhat different form of FIG. 7, having rows of stalls extending east-west, one such row being row 83 up against the north wall being a single row along that wall. There is another such row 85 more toward the middle of the building, a double row, in which one line 87 of stalls gives on to a corridor between it and a northerly row of stalls and the other line 89 gives on to the south into an area between it and the feeding trough, while columns 69 are between the stall lines.

The dot-dash line 82 in FIG. 7, as in FIGS. and 6, is intended to give an idea of the extent of the underneath part that has roof directly overhead. The roof should preferably overhang to the south of the feed trough at 84 by at least 6 feet and to the north of the north wall at 86 by at least a foot and a half.

The form of FIG. 7, which in these respects is the same as the other forms, has feed trough 22 and an underneath manure pit 91.

Continuing with the form of FIG. 7, which in these respects is generally similar to all the other forms, floor 93 of the building. extending southward beyond the edge of the overhang of the roof at 94, is of concrete and the corridors, such as corridor 95 in FIG. 7, are rectangular with straight cubed sides to facilitate removal of any material that may be in them. The liquid manure pit 91 is at a level below the floor 93 and is normally covered with openings having rectangular covers 98, but the covers may be opened for deposit therein. The corridors and the areas of the floor should slope slightly toward openings in the manure pit. Pump facilitates removal of the manure from the pit, using the liquid manure system.

In FIG. 7, milking area 25 includes a milking parlor 97, a milk room 99, a utility room 101, and a lavatory 103 together with a holding corridor 105.

The west wall of the main area may have doors or openings as desired, as illustrated by opening 107 shown in FIG. 1, and the east wall likewise as illustrated, for example, in

openings

109 and 111 in FIG. 7. There should be doors, as for example overhead doors, or other covers for these openings for use when the weather makes it desirable, adjustment of the situation as to these doors being part of the affirmative control over temperature and ventilation amount and flow.

The form of FIG. 7 is a form very like that of FIGS. 1 and 2 but without the silo and feed therefrom shown in the form of FIG. 1, reliance in this case being had on bringing the feed in in some other way, as for example by a special truck for that purpose, often called a chuckwagon."

This special truck will distribute the feed along the trough, so that the internal feeding device running along the feed trough 22, which will normally be found in the other forms, can be omitted from this one.

The form of FIG. 8 is like the forms of FIGS. 1 and 2 and of FIG. 7 in its essentials.

All of the forms shown are intended to have a fence 113 around the open portion of the building, and this fence is shown in the forms of FIGS. 1 and 8 in somewhat different particular positions, it having a short concrete wall at the bottom in all cases, and being designated as 113' in FIG. 8.

The form of FIG. 6, also diagrammatically illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, has an additional single row of stalls 115 to the south of its double row of stalls, this additional row of stalls, like all the rows in all the forms, being under the northerly portion of the roof. In this form, as in the other forms, there is a line of vents or windows 117 on top of the north wall 61, and these windows can be opened when this is desired from the standpoint of ventilation. On this, as in the other forms, there should be a water facility 122 at the western end of thefeed trough. This form of FIGS. 6, 9 and 10 will preferably have an added line of columns 124 under the northerly sloping portion of the roof of the main part of the building, preferably along the southerly edge of additional row 115 of bedding stalls, not very far from the top opening.

Especially in a form such as that of FIGS. 6, 9 and 10, with a greater number'of cows to handle in milking, it is preferable to include also in the milking area a special added holding chute 118, before their entrance into the milking parlor, and a special loading area 120.

FIGS. 9 and 10 directed to the form of FIG. 6, but showing it diagrammatically, illustrate the highly advantageous heating and ventilating setup present in all the forms. FIG. 9 illustrates the setup as would apply in the case where the building was being used, for example, in the area around Quarryville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the inventor lives. FIG. 9 shows the setup as it would exist typically in winter, and more specifically on the shortest day at the beginning of winter with any clouds not too great to prevent at least heat rays from the sun from penetrating to the building.

Lines 125 illustrate the sun's rays going down at an illustrative angle to 26 /9, such as would approximately be the case under these conditions. In other parts of the day it would, of course, be'somewhat lower, but in the coldest part of the winter the sun during the hours of 9:00 to 3:00 might average somewhere not too far from 20 in inclination from the horizontal. Assuming that the day is not unseasonably warm,

the windows I17 will all be closed, but in accordance with the plan ,of the invention the opening betweenthe roof portions, and also the open south side, will be open as always. Under these ,eonditions the heat rays from the sun and the light rays as well ,i fthe sun is visible, will be shining through the open ,roof on to the double row of stalls which are at more or less a midpoint of the floor space under the northerly sloping portion of the roof.

The sun's rays will likewise be shining through the open southend ,of the building onto the feeding trough and the area close toitand beyond to the south, this feeding trough being located just to the north of the post and under the southerly sloping portion of the roof, and thesoutherly opening of the building being approximately 8 ,feet high, as is more or less the north wallbelow the windows. The suns rays will also be shiningonthe roof itself I Tahisbuilding setup. in this whole situation, including the presence of the cattle in their normal places in the bedding and/orfeeding areas of the building, will have a naturally created ventilation more or less as indicatedby thearrows 127 in the interior of the building, in a normal situation. As indicated by the arrows, the air will be coming in from the open south end across the feed troughsand the stalls and with increments constantly coming up towardthe roof opening and in somelcases back of the underside of the roof to the roof opening. Thus, there will be a gradual and Continual ventilation throughout the building to insure dissipation of humidity, especially,fland heat to a lesser extent, in a manner to secure a healthy outdoor atmosphere which, however, is substantially higher than the extreme cold of winter completely in the open would be forthe cows. This permits use of the buildingin clikmatesifar more rigorous than those where cows could well stay out ,all winter. For example, it is quite satisfactory for the latitude ofwhich FIG. 9 is illustrative.

FIG. '10 shows the situation in the summer, being illustrated byithe specific example of what would happen at the same placeat the time of the longest day of the year with the sun at its meridian position. In that case if the weather is not unseaso'nably cold, the windows will be open, the sun's rays will he shining down at an angle of 73 from the horizon and no sun min-1e coming in the central opening, since the overhang "is suchasto prevent this,

Also,,a very limited amount of sun will come under the roof .at the south edge, and in view of the overhang at that south edge ,none of this sun willstrike the feeding station or the cows at the feeding station, the overhang beyond the feeding station to the south being enough to prevent that. The sun will he striking the roof and at a much. higher angle, with correspondingly greater heating effect on-the air immediately undemeaththeroof.

Undersuch conditions, in the normal 'case the ventilation thangthecorresponding stream in FIG. 9.

Thisstream upimmediately underthe roof, both in summer and winter, though stronger in summer, includes air all along the spaces 135 on the undersides of the-tops 41 of the flutings,

through which spaces airrwill bepassing 'over the tops of cross beams 77, thereibeing thus a substantial minimum of stagnant, deadair involved.

This ventilation situation in the warmer part of the year is .alsoespecially likely ,to include airflowin through open doors or other openings .in the east and west ends, which will Ilikewiseingeneral find its way up to the top opening.

Even in winter when the vents above the north wall are .closed, a certain limited amount of air will be coming in from the :north up under the roof, because the roof is fluted, whereas what is immediately under it at the north wall isflat, .asare the tops of-the cross beams everywhere.

Ifexpansion is desired of a building following one of the embodiments especially involved in FIGS. 12 and 6-10, a

building more or less corresponding to that already shown can be added to the east, but with things reversed as far as east and west is concerned and the east-west corridors simply extended and possibly usingthe same silo.

The form of FIG. 5 shows a variation inwhich the stalls run north and south, here being shown as three double lines and two single lines, instead of east and west. However, as with the building with the east and west running stall lines, these stalls are all located underthe northerlypant of the roof rather than the southerly part.

While, as has been stated, the northerly sloping portion of the main part of the roof of my invention, preferably 10 in downward slope, can be in a range from 5 to l5 in such slope,

and the southerly sloping portion, preferably 20 in downward slope, can be in a range from 15 to 25 in suchslopc, the slope of the southerly portion should always beat least 5 greater than that of the northerly portion.

The directions of slope .of'the portions ,of the main part of relationship in the particular building should normally be maintained by making the corresponding deviation in all other directions in the one building.

Thesituation as to sunshineand ventilation illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, as applied specifically to the form of FIG. 6 at a particular latitude, will apply more or less for all the forms over a wide range of latitudes covering at least much the greater part of whatused to be the 48 states of the United States. However, it will be realized, of course, for example.

that there will be noticeable differences in the particular inclination of the suns rays, and the'particular point at which they will strike inthe interior, at a given time where there is a decided difference in latitude.

The form of FIG. 6 is my most preferred form, with roof and supporting structure as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, except that, of course, there is the additional line of columns and stalls shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, with size to take care of this. i

If a smaller barn is desired, the form of FIG. 7 is preferred,

with roof and supporting structure as shown in FIGS. I and 2 except thatthesmaller north-south size of FIG. 7 is preferred.

Various sizes of buildings couldbe used, especially for beef animals, for example; and where beef animals, such as steers] are involved, bedding stalls would preferably not be used. but the area under the north part of the roof would preferably have bedding distributed over it, and the north part of the roof would preferably not be as great in size in the north-south direction.

The building setup for animals in question has continuous healthful ventilation throughout, thus constantly keeping down to reasonable levels the humidity which otherwise would tend to buildup, and preventing undue: extremes of heat. However, the reduced ventilation in the wintertime is not sufficient to create any problem of undue exposure to cold, and this is especially true in the bedding stalls. Yet all this is done with no artificial heat and a substantial minimum of special regulation.

The present invention is thus very sturdy, economical and effective building which keep the cows or other animals under healthful conditions such as they would be subject to if they spent their life outdoors in a climate sufficiently and continuously moderate for that to be-suitabl.e. The problems of humidity, fresh air and proper temperature are all adequately taken care of and with a minimum of complexity in construction or difficulty in operation.

all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the building setup shown, and I therefore claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claim.

lclaim:

l. A barn building for animals comprising a roof having a greater roof portion sloping downward from an intermediate position at a slope of to from the horizontal. a lesser roof portion sloping downward a lesser distance in the opposite direction at at least 5 greater angle than the greater roof portion, which greater angle is from 15 to from the horizontal, the direction of downward slope of the first portion being oriented within no more than of north and the direction of downward slope of the second portion being oriented within no more than 30 of south, and the two roof portions being separated at their respective highest ends by an air opening running within no more than 30 of east and west, bedding stalls for the animals, with all of the stalls being located under the greater roof portion. the side of the building under the lower end of the lesser roof being open and the other sides of the building being at least partly enclosed.

2. A barn building according to claim 1 in which there is a feeder located under the lesser roof portion 3. A barn building according to claim 1 in which the higher I end of the greater roof portion overhangs the higher end of the lesser roof portion, so that the opening is under the higher end of the greater roof portion.

4. A barn building according to claim 1 in which the roof portions themselves are fluted longitudinally of their directions of slope, and flat topped supporting cross beams are immediately under the fluted roof.

5. A barn building in accordance with claim 1 in which the greater roof portion slopes downwardly at 10 and the lesser roof portion slopes downwardly at 20.

6. A barn building in accordance with claim 1 in which the greater roof portion slopes downward specifically toward the l north, the lesser roof portion slopes downward specifically toward the south, and the roof opening runs specifically east and west.

7. A barn building in accordance with claim 1 in which the greater roof portion covers approximately two-thirds of the main part of the building and the lesser roof portion covers approximately one-third of the main part of the building.

8. A barn building in accordance with claim 1, in which below the lower 'end of the greater roof portion is a building wall with vents on top of the wall under the roof.

9. A barn building in accordance with claim 1 in which a feature of the supporting structure for the main part of the roof is a series of pairs of sloping beams, one of each pair being underneath and parallel to the greater roof portion and the other of each pair being underneath and parallel to the lessergroof portion, and the two beams of each pair joining together near the top opening, with the one under the lesser roof portion joined at its top end to the underside of the one under the greater roof portion at a pointvnear the top end of the one under the greater roof portion, with that top end of the one under the greater roof portion extending out beyond the place ofjoining.

10. A building for housing cows comprising:

A. a roof having a ridge running in an east and west direction, a northerly roof portion whose most southerly edge forms the ridge and which roof portion slopes downwardly in a northerly direction from the ridge at an angle of 10 from the horizontal and terminates to the north of the northerly edge of the interior of the building. a southerly roof portion sloping down in a southerly direction from a point underneath and separated from the northerly roof portion near the ridge, the northerly edge of the southerly roof portion and the southerly edge of the northerly roof portion being positioned to form a continuously open opening the line extending across the opening from the northerly edge of the southerly roof portion to the southerly edge of the northerlyroof portion being in an u wardly southerly direction at an angle of a proximate y 70 from the horizontal and the souther y root portion terminating in the southerly direction at an edge defining an always open opening along the southerly edge of the building which is approximately 8 feet high. the roof being made up of sheet material having continuous corrugations running the entire distance of each portion in the north-south direction; Y

B. a north wall 8 feet high extending along the northern edge of the interior space of the building somewhat short of the northerly edge of the roof and having openable windows between it and the bottom of the roof portion at that point;

C. stalls for the cows, which stalls are located in the interior of the building and limited to the part under the northerly ortion of the roof;

D. a feeding area for the cows in the interior of the building under the southerly portion of the roof;

E. walls at least partly protecting the building from an easterly and westerly direction and having door openings adapted to be closed at will; and

F. a supporting structure which along with the walls supports the roof and which includes posts, beam-type rafters and cross beams running horizontally east and west between the rafters, said cross beams having straight tops touching only the lower parts of the corrugational flutings of the roof sheet materials in the beams passage across in the east-west direction and leaving the upper parts of said flutings free for continuous north-south airflow, the northerly sloping portion of the roof extending approximately twice as great a distance in the north-south direction as does the southerly sloping portion of the roof.

Claims

1. A barn building for animals comprising a roof having a greater roof portion sloping downward from an intermediate position at a slope of 5 to 15* from the horizontal, a lesser roof portion sloping downward a lesser distance in the opposite direction at at least 5* greater angle than the greater roof portion, which greater angle is from 15 to 25* from the horizontal, the direction of downward slope of the first portion being oriented within no more than 30* of north and the direction of downward slope of the second portion being oriented within no more than 30* of south, and the two roof portions being separated at their respective highest ends by an air opening running within no more than 30* of east and west, bedding stalls for the animals, with all of the stalls being located under the greater roof portion, the side of the building under the lower end of the lesser roof being open and the other sides of the building being at least partly enclosed.

2. A barn building according to claim 1 in which there is a feeder located under the lesser roof portion.

3. A barn building according to claim 1 in which the higher end of the greater roof portion overhangs the higher end of the lesser roof portion, so that the opening is under the higher end of the greater roof portion.

5. A barn building in accordance with claim 1 in which the greater roof portion slopes downwardly at 10* and the lesser roof portion slopes downwardly at 20*.

6. A barn building in accordance with claim 1 in which the greater roof portion slopes downward specifically toward the north, the lesser roof portion slopes downward specifically toward the south, and the roof opening runs specifically east and west.

8. A barn building in accordance with claim 1, in which below the lower end of the greater roof portion is a building wall with vents on top of the wall under the roof.

9. A barn building in accordance with claim 1 in which a feature of the supporting structure for the main part of the roof is a series of pairs of sloping beams, one of each pair being underneath and parallel to the greater roof portion and the other of each pair being underneath and parallel to the lesser roof portion, and the two beams of each pair joining together near the top opening, with the one under the lesser roof portion joined at its top end to the underside of the one under the greater roof portion at a point near the top end of the one under the greater roof portion, with that top end of the one under the greater roof portion extending out beyond the place of joining.

10. A building for housing cows comprising: A. a roof having a ridge running in an east and west direction, a northerly roof portion whose most southerly edge forms the ridge and which roof portion slopes downwardly in a northerly direction from the ridge at an angle of 10* from the horizontal and terminates to the north of the northerly edge of the interior of the building, a southerly roof portion sloping down in a southerly direction from a point underneath and separated from the northerly roof portion near the ridge, the northerly edge of the southerly roof portion and the southerly edge of the northerly roof portion being positioned to form a continuously open opening the line extending across the opening from the northerly edge of the southerly roof portion to the southerly edge of the northerly roof portion being in an upwardly southerly direction at an angle of approximately 70* from the horizontal and the southerly roof portion terminating in the southerly direction at an edge defining an always open opening along the southerly edge of the building which is approximately 8 feet high, the roof being made up of sheet material having continuous corrugations running the entire distance of each portion in the north-south direction; B. a north wall 8 feet high extending along the northern edge of the interior space of the building somewhat short of the northerly edge of the roof and having openable windows between it and the bottom of the roof portion at that point; C. stalls for the cows, which stalls are located in the interior of the building and limited to the part under the northerly portion of the roof; D. a feeding area for the cows in the interior of the building under the southerly portion of the roof; E. walls at least partly protecting the building from an easterly and westerly direction and having door openings adapted to be closed at will; and F. a supporting structure which along with the walls supports the roof and which includes posts, beam-type rafters and cross beams running horizontally east and west between the rafters, said cross beams having straight tops touching only the lower parts of the corrugational flutings of the roof sheet materials in the beamS'' passage across in the east-west direction and leaving the upper parts of said flutings free for continuous north-south airflow, the northerly sloping portion of the roof extending approximately twice as great a distance in the north-south direction as does the southerly sloping portion of the roof.