How big is yours?

funny man

i'm milking 120 cows through a 8 unit parlour which takes me nearly two and a half hours to milk not counting herding, if milk price holds up i'm considering going into the bank to see would they lend a fellow a few euro to extend what i have. just wondering how many units could one handle, and after how many units would i need cluster removers, so how big is your parlour?, have you cluster removers? and is one person able to handle it with comfort?

linebacker52

Also milking 120 through a 16 unit with cluster removers and swing over arms takes about 1 hour 20 mins wouldn't milk without the removers now.if you can afford it at all go for it you wont regert it

funny man

Do you do all the prep (wash,dry and strip) before attaching to each cow and if so are you able todo it without pressure.
I'm not a young lad anymore!

stanflt

funny man wrote: »

i'm milking 120 cows through a 8 unit parlour which takes me nearly two and a half hours to milk not counting herding, if milk price holds up i'm considering going into the bank to see would they lend a fellow a few euro to extend what i have. just wondering how many units could one handle, and after how many units would i need cluster removers, so how big is your parlour?, have you cluster removers? and is one person able to handle it with comfort?

milking 100 tru a 10 unit dairymaster parlour-auto id-cluster removers-swing arms-cluster cleanse in just over 1hour 10 mins. cows are averaging 27litres at the moment-
just after getting it in last summer-had alpha 6unit recording jars-used to take 3hours in morn 2.5in the evening
money well spent

linebacker52

funny man wrote: »

Do you do all the prep (wash,dry and strip) before attaching to each cow and if so are you able todo it without pressure.
I'm not a young lad anymore!

Would only wash dirty ones not under pressure at all in the pit. have backing gate for getting them in as don't feed in the parlour. Put in new two years ago and as stanfit said was money well spend.

JohnBoy

couple of years ago I did occasional milking for a friend, 120 cows from first cluster on to last off in an hour in the middle of summer in a 20 unit, no fancy kit, just a straight milking machine.

Spending 5 hours a day milking means you either have no life at all, or you're not giving the rest of the farm enough time.

Jesus you must be killed from it.

dar31

for the most of last summer i put 170 through a 12 unit with acr's.
took about 2 1/4hrs inc getting cows from ave distance paddock(it will be longer this year as missus ran over our cattle dog) but we had a very tight routine and there was no prep work. put 200 through it the for a month till we sold some in may, there seemed to be no end to them.
been daydreaming about parlours for a few years... probally a 22-24 unit with acrs. with the possibility of milking 250 or so.
it would take two lads at peak calving to work it, one milking and one run about and calf feeder. but one should manage on their own once things settle.
at the moment it is a compromise between repayments on a new parlour,shed and collecting yard or extra labour to milk in old parlour, but have labour to do other jobs, freeing up some of my time

ihatetractors

We milk 42 through a 6 unit, 1.75hrs during summer and say 2.50 hrs during calving etc..
Depends i spze, spend capital to save labour, or spend labour abd save on capital. Tis a question only you can truely answer

John_F

100 cows through a 6 unit, no parlour feeders - have a drum though , recording jars, pre strip, cluster dipping and post dipping with thick dip this time of year, 3' centres and is a disaster with big cows pusing! also have plenty dreams :rolleyes: taking about 2.5 hours milking

@stanflt: is the cluster flush worth the money, talking to a man thee other day about it and in Israel (where they are big into feed to condition and cow health monitoring lactose per cow etc) that it was put in and no longer put in as it was over rated???

a nice bit of info on www.dardni.gov.uk

http://www.dardni.gov.uk/ruralni/index/livestock/livestock_dairy/buildings_equipment/parlours/assessing-milking-parlour.htm

jeff greene

Milk 70 through 10 unit with no acrs, feeders, etc. Start to finish takes about 2 hours, I pre-dip and wipe when inside and strip always, also dip clusters in peracidic acid from high SCC cows. I have culled the really slow milkers as they slow it down to a stop. I know the prep takes time but I find cows milk fasters with the stimulation and it keeps on top of mastitis. I had planned on putting a dump line in for this spring but bought extra milk buckets instead.

I find 2 hrs fine, its my main job, 6 to 8am and 5-7pm, long day inbetween for other jobs.

stanflt

John_F wrote: »

@stanflt: is the cluster flush worth the money, talking to a man thee other day about it and in Israel (where they are big into feed to condition and cow health monitoring lactose per cow etc) that it was put in and no longer put in as it was over rated???

a nice bit of info on www.dardni.gov.uk

http://www.dardni.gov.uk/ruralni/index/livestock/livestock_dairy/buildings_equipment/parlours/assessing-milking-parlour.htm

no difference in scc with the cluster cleanse

funny man

Interesting stuff lads. I do the whole prep stuff and i am very fussy on cows being milked out fully so i'm not sure about the removers but i think you need them after 12 units or so. The milking is a real chore and i have to feed the calves as well, can take the whole day at times. I have room to goto 14 but after that i'd have to start knocking as i'm up against a tank at the back of the pit. does anyone do the full prep with more than 14 units with removers.

5live

Milking 96 through 14 unit Delaval with jars. No feeders or ACRs. 2.5 hours a day from 1st cluster on to last off. Draw problem cows and clean when dirty only. Slow cows get milked first in a round. JFC plastic barrow and scoop for feeding. With feeders i could knock 1.5 minutes off milking time per round but it wont be this year. It is slower in spring alright taking milk for calves but about 5 minutes per milking in total. I reckon i could handle 17 units with feeders before backing gates and ACRs needed. How much is the lotto this week:D

aidanki

funny man wrote: »

Interesting stuff lads. I do the whole prep stuff and i am very fussy on cows being milked out fully so i'm not sure about the removers but i think you need them after 12 units or so. The milking is a real chore and i have to feed the calves as well, can take the whole day at times. I have room to goto 14 but after that i'd have to start knocking as i'm up against a tank at the back of the pit. does anyone do the full prep with more than 14 units with removers.

we have the removers with 7-8yrs now, milking between the legs in a 2ft 4" setup, can safely say never once have me or the auld lad remarked that a cow wasn't milked fully, without doubt the best money the auld lad ever spent, he has 10units down the middle 60-70cows, were about €1000 a piece at the time, should be able to get SH ones at this stage,

milker is under no pressure in parlour with removers

tell me what else on the farm do you use for 1.5hrsX2 in the day for 9-11mths of the year?

much better value than buying a van or a jeep that you don't really need, who would agree with me

funny man

aidanki wrote: »

we have the removers with 7-8yrs now, milking between the legs in a 2ft 4" setup, can safely say never once have me or the auld lad remarked that a cow wasn't milked fully, without doubt the best money the auld lad ever spent, he has 10units down the middle 60-70cows, were about €1000 a piece at the time, should be able to get SH ones at this stage,

milker is under no pressure in parlour with removers

tell me what else on the farm do you use for 1.5hrsX2 in the day for 9-11mths of the year?

much better value than buying a van or a jeep that you don't really need, who would agree with me

I think i need reprograming when it comes to milking, i suppose it's just habits of a life time.

I not questioning the spend or the value i'm more interested in how many others can cope with and experiences of size of milking parlours with and without removers. I'm not spending 1.5hrsx2 i'm spending 2.5hrsx2 so don't worry i know a machines worth!

after 2009 i'm only getting back on my feet, the current account is still in the red but i think this year is going to be a good one 37cent/litre by July.

as for the jeep its 1990 so no wasted money there, just mean and lean!

Tipp Man

Milking 94 in a 14 unit Dairymaster with cluster removers built 2007. 2' 4" spacing (AFAIK) - milking through the legs whichever that is

Takes 45 minutes with 2 in parlour which includes drawing all cows and post milking spraying. Dirty cows washed as necessary obviously

With 1 in parlour takes an hour (only 2 people available maybe 50% of time). cleaning up and bringing cows in/out not included in that. We do a hot wash every morning which takes a while but put cows out and tidy up while its going on

Nuts fed in parlour but only using cheap pig feeders - they more than do the job for our situation. We have a locking head rail which can be a pain training in new heifers but once all trained makes cows very stable in parlour

As Aidanki says above, cluster removers are worth their weight in gold and then some. IMO they really take the pressure off as you don't need to run around the pit. Certainly much less stress involved.

I think that any parlour over 10 units would want to be considering removers and I would think they are a necessity in anything over 14 units. We didn't put them into the parlour originally but after 4 months we just found it too difficult when 1 person in parlour so made the purchase -well worth it

stanflt

Tipp Man wrote: »

We do a hot wash every morning which takes a while but put cows out and tidy up while its going on

I think that any parlour over 10 units would want to be considering removers and I would think they are a necessity in anything over 14 units. We didn't put them into the parlour originally but after 4 months we just found it too difficult when 1 person in parlour so made the purchase -well worth it

have you not got an auto washer?

Tipp Man

stanflt wrote: »

have you not got an auto washer?

No auto wash unfortunately

aidanki

Tipp Man wrote: »

Milking 94 in a 14 unit Dairymaster with cluster removers built 2007. 2' 4" spacing (AFAIK) - milking through the legs whichever that is

Takes 45 minutes with 2 in parlour which includes drawing all cows and post milking spraying. Dirty cows washed as necessary obviously

With 1 in parlour takes an hour (only 2 people available maybe 50% of time). cleaning up and bringing cows in/out not included in that. We do a hot wash every morning which takes a while but put cows out and tidy up while its going on

Nuts fed in parlour but only using cheap pig feeders - they more than do the job for our situation. We have a locking head rail which can be a pain training in new heifers but once all trained makes cows very stable in parlour

As Aidanki says above, cluster removers are worth their weight in gold and then some. IMO they really take the pressure off as you don't need to run around the pit. Certainly much less stress involved.

I think that any parlour over 10 units would want to be considering removers and I would think they are a necessity in anything over 14 units. We didn't put them into the parlour originally but after 4 months we just found it too difficult when 1 person in parlour so made the purchase -well worth it

parlour is v similar to ours, how much were the removers can you remember as is the milking practice

funny man

stanflt wrote: »

have you not got an auto washer?

Have you got one? If so whats the benifits?