A barnyard or farmyard is an enclosed or open
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
adjoining a
barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...
,
[Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009. Barn. n.] and, typically, related farm buildings, including a
farmhouse
FarmHouse (FH) is a men's social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 34 active chapters in the United States and Canada.FarmHouse Fraternity New Memb ...
. Enclosed barnyards are usually formed by a combination of fences and farm structures.
Description
A barnyard of the 19th century was fenced-in an area of about or more; modern barnyards ''per se'' may not be as large, but agricultural properties still may use a perimeter fence around areas of concentrated animal management to help contain any that may get loose. The barnyard is the domain of the
mule
The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...
s,
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s, and other
working animal
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for transportation (e.g. riding horses and camels), while oth ...
s, as well as fowl and working pets, such as
barn cats. On small farms, pasture animals such as milk goats or a dairy cow may stay in the barnyard when not in the fields.
Depending on climate, barnyards may contain trees for shade. A water source is also common; the
watering trough
A watering trough (or artificial watering point) is a man-made or natural receptacle intended to provide drinking water to animals, livestock on farms or ranches or wild animals.
History
In Australia, the watering trough is established so t ...
in past times was supplied by water from a
hand driven well, with the water kept in wooden or metal containers. The water trough was filled daily, perhaps by a
pitcher pump, or by
windmill
A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery.
Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
power. Pumping the trough full, by hand, was often the chore of farm children. In modern times, a trough may be hand-filled with a hose, or an
automatic water fountain designed for livestock may be installed in one or more locations.
A large barn is often central to the barnyard, storing
farm equipment
Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the farm implements that they tow or operate. M ...
, and providing stalls for the farm animals. In traditional designs, a hayloft often occupies the second floor, and a barn
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout.
The word derives, via Ital ...
caps off the hayloft. In some barns, the loft has a series of openings in the floor just above the stalls to send hay into the
manger
__NOTOC__
A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew").
Mangers are mostly used in ...
s below. In some places, the barn houses a corn crib and a corn sheller. Feed storage, however, is also a boon to mice and rats, so farmers often keep barn cats to control
vermin
Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...
.
See also
*
Courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...
*
Feedlot
A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called conc ...
References
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Yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
Farms