Kick Bar on Dairy Heifer

Farfield

I have a real devil of a heifer this year that is real hard to break in. Most others this year were easy to break. Holding tail works with this one alright but its not always possible to have 2nd person in the parlour.
I dont like kick bars as my experience is they drive heifers mad with hopping around etc. Anyways, an awl fella told me years ago to put animals in the crush chute (head not in crush gate-so free to move back and forth) and get her used to/train her to the kick bar before putting it on her in the parlour. So i have now done this several days. Weird thing is she never mis-behaves with it in the crush and it could stay on her all day there and you could do anything to her, but put it on her in the parlour and she goes crazy. Any ideas why the difference???

td5man

Farfield wrote: »

I have a real devil of a heifer this year that is real hard to break in. Most others this year were easy to break. Holding tail works with this one alright but its not always possible to have 2nd person in the parlour.
I dont like kick bars as my experience is they drive heifers mad with hopping around etc. Anyways, an awl fella told me years ago to put animals in the crush chute (head not in crush gate-so free to move back and forth) and get her used to/train her to the kick bar before putting it on her in the parlour. So i have now done this several days. Weird thing is she never mis-behaves with it in the crush and it could stay on her all day there and you could do anything to her, but put it on her in the parlour and she goes crazy. Any ideas why the difference???

Have you tried a vise grips on her tail. Started using a jump lead clamp lately, while it doesnt immobilise them, it stops them kicking as aggresively.

sh1tstirrer

Farfield wrote: »

I have a real devil of a heifer this year that is real hard to break in. Most others this year were easy to break. Holding tail works with this one alright but its not always possible to have 2nd person in the parlour.
I dont like kick bars as my experience is they drive heifers mad with hopping around etc. Anyways, an awl fella told me years ago to put animals in the crush chute (head not in crush gate-so free to move back and forth) and get her used to/train her to the kick bar before putting it on her in the parlour. So i have now done this several days. Weird thing is she never mis-behaves with it in the crush and it could stay on her all day there and you could do anything to her, but put it on her in the parlour and she goes crazy. Any ideas why the difference???

I had a few daft ones last year. I put the unit on them and held up the tail as soon as the unit was on. The heifers this year were the same as if they were milked before they even walked straight into the parlour for their first milking.

quadboy

We used to have some fun trying to milk heifers in the old stalls, we would rub/tickle her udder hold up her tail have bar on her and try and keep her pushed against the wall, I dunno how many times the bucket was smashed into pieces. One or two would lose the head altogether and start throwin her back legs into the air. They all usually settled down after about a week, god it was dangerous work

Farfield

TD5 i have not used vice grips, but i do use battery clamp clips on a few fidgety ones_its not great but helps a bit. The trick with these i find is not to put them straight onto the tail, but to put them on from the side and this way it clamps onto the rear of the nail (next cows arse) - works best this way.
Re putting the clusters on first and then holding the cows tail, i would do this surely, but you cant even get them on in the first place!! Might try a rope to tie the rear leg to rump rail, have never tried it, but worth a go!!

6480

get a clothes line piece of rope and tie it around the heifer s belly just in front of her bag , tie it good and tight and put a dull knot on it for letting go afterwards , i find it works the best , if you tie their leg to the rump rail it drive them stone made

IPFree

http://www.agritura.co.uk/agricultural-equipment/cattle-breeding-and-cattle-farming/taming/kick-stop-for-cows-amerika-113.html

Got one last season. Ends the argument full stop. No hassle & no adrenaline interfering with oxytocin and milk release. Result happy hfr, more milk happy farmer :-)
Not to preach but do try the clamp/ vice grip on your own finger and see can you relax enough to milk out! I had a hell of a time here with stray voltage and tried every method known. This works.
Loaned it to neighbour 2 Weeks ago and he ordered one the next day.
Also worth trying is keep her till last row allowing more time to keep her relaxed and stops the others getting agitated by her.
Best of luck!

Farfield

IPFree, is this tool a bit like tying a rope around her belly as 6480 just said? Has your thing drove any cows made like the kick bar can do? Or have you had any problems with it at all? I would buy one if it worked well for sure.

Viewtodiefor

IPFree wrote: »

http://www.agritura.co.uk/agricultural-equipment/cattle-breeding-and-cattle-farming/taming/kick-stop-for-cows-amerika-113.html

Got one last season. Ends the argument full stop. No hassle & no adrenaline interfering with oxytocin and milk release. Result happy hfr, more milk happy farmer :-)
Not to preach but do try the clamp/ vice grip on your own finger and see can you relax enough to milk out! I had a hell of a time here with stray voltage and tried every method known. This works.
Loaned it to neighbour 2 Weeks ago and he ordered one the next day.
Also worth trying is keep her till last row allowing more time to keep her relaxed and stops the others getting agitated by her.
Best of luck!

That looks like a medieval torture device! Great if it worked though!

whelan1

do ye put them through the parlour before calving? makes a hell of a difference

IPFree

Farfield wrote: »

IPFree, is this tool a bit like tying a rope around her belly as 6480 just said? Has your thing drove any cows made like the kick bar can do? Or have you had any problems with it at all? I would buy one if it worked well for sure.

It's like having a kick bar on both sides but better. The most she can do is hop up and down a bit but as it doesn't hurt her the fear soon eases and she will settle.
Ill get mine back off the neighbour in am and get a photo up with it on one. I sent a link to Connaughtagri to see if they'd stock em but not heard back. Any entrepreneurs out there fancy making em? They're common enough in the US I think and been around a while there. Not sure why they never made it here. If you any way near sth TIPP, pm me and you'd be welcome to try it.

Farfield

Yea heifers are run through the parlour surely for couple of weeks b4 they calf, but this one is a twat. IP, do they hop mad like they do with the kick bar?? I think i will order one on line asap. I am way up north but photo would be good. If the heifer dowsnt stop hopping can you take it off quick?? Looks slow to take off with the screw thing??

Timmaay

whelan1 wrote: »

do ye put them through the parlour before calving? makes a hell of a difference

Last heifer I had calf was only a week ago, she was after most of the rest of them and I wasn't expecting her to calf down so quick so didn't get a chance to put her through the parlour before calving. Really regretting it now, she is abit nervous anyways, and very slow and awkward to get into the parlour. Most the other heifers sort of stick amoung themselves, this one stays off on herown though. Another reason why I think synchronizing the heifers AI'ing is a good idea.

IPFree

I did have one that hopped up and down for a min or so but after just rubbing her tightening it a bit she stopped. It is slightly awkward to put on in that you've to ease it down slow so the middle bit doesn't slap onto her spine counteracting your efforts and same coming off. My parlour is very low so easy to jump up beside them. The handle is quite small I think to stop strong arms over tightening it - no need at all.
The real beauty is that they can't hop it off like with a kick bar nor use the other leg to get you or cow beside them.
In answer to Q, yup it's a bit slower but faster than rope and way faster in long run. If possible run her in last so you've more time & patience.

mf240

Some of them are just tough to train in. Ive found lately if its just one hang up all the other clusters and just stay with her and hold the machine so she cant kick it off. If you get her milked fairly well let her out. Dont fight with her or tie her up as if you make her nervous of the palour she will be like a coiled spring everytime. usually after a few days they settle down. Also a bit of cream to soften tits after milking is no harm.

Most of it is in the breed never breed replacements from a cross cow.

whelan1

mf240 wrote: »

Some of them are just tough to train in. Ive found lately if its just one hang up all the other clusters and just stay with her and hold the machine so she cant kick it off. If you get her milked fairly well let her out. Dont fight with her or tie her up as if you make her nervous of the palour she will be like a coiled spring everytime. usually after a few days they settle down. Also a bit of cream to soften tits after milking is no harm.

Most of it is in the breed never breed replacements from a cross cow.

main thing is not to loose the cool, walk away if you have to

mf240

whelan1 wrote: »

main thing is not to loose the cool, walk away if you have to

Ya its not the heifers fault but the thing about patience is they run out when you need them most.:o

whelan1

mf240 wrote: »

Ya its not the heifers fault but the thing about patience is they run out when you need them most.:o

yup, I know only too well

milkprofit

Farfield wrote: »

I have a real devil of a heifer this year that is real hard to break in. Most others this year were easy to break. Holding tail works with this one alright but its not always possible to have 2nd person in the parlour.
I dont like kick bars as my experience is they drive heifers mad with hopping around etc. Anyways, an awl fella told me years ago to put animals in the crush chute (head not in crush gate-so free to move back and forth) and get her used to/train her to the kick bar before putting it on her in the parlour. So i have now done this several days. Weird thing is she never mis-behaves with it in the crush and it could stay on her all day there and you could do anything to her, but put it on her in the parlour and she goes crazy. Any ideas why the difference???

Why give her and u hardship
Simple
Put her i n first in parlor put branks in nose tie it back so her head is almost at her udder while u put on cluster
do for about 2 days letting loser each time never fails

td5man

Farfield wrote: »

TD5 i have not used vice grips, but i do use battery clamp clips on a few fidgety ones_its not great but helps a bit. The trick with these i find is not to put them straight onto the tail, but to put them on from the side and this way it clamps onto the rear of the nail (next cows arse) - works best this way.
Re putting the clusters on first and then holding the cows tail, i would do this surely, but you cant even get them on in the first place!! Might try a rope to tie the rear leg to rump rail, have never tried it, but worth a go!!

I'm putting it on from the rear,this f***er would kick you when walking past her in the parlour shes grand when not in the parlour. :rolleyes:

IPFree

Hey. Tried putting on photos of Hip Fetter but can't get em small enough on phone so will try on pc later. Sorry delay.
Spoke with neighbour who'd also tried it and the hfr he'd trouble with is now a lamb.

case885

we tie their leg to rail with twine great job, they might be a bit mad the first day but after a few weeks when they get used to things they wouldnt need it. I find them kick bars useless especially on a small mad heifer no good

delaval

Why do ye entertain these? I feel that there is enough to watch without getting the shyte kicked out of me

Farfield

I know how you feel de laval but its hard to send them to meat factory after rearing them for 2-3 years and you can't really send them to t.he dairy ring in the mart or u would have them home again!! If you had enough replacements coming through scrapping the odd wild one would be the best option.

delaval

Farfield wrote: »

I know how you feel de laval but its hard to send them to meat factory after rearing them for 2-3 years and you can't really send them to t.he dairy ring in the mart or u would have them home again!! If you had enough replacements coming through scrapping the odd wild one would be the best option.

I totally agree try your best but if they persist I would not keep just like a slow milker:eek:

IPFree

6th attempt!
1st photo just shows it closed up a bit, 2nd on a cow to show where it sits. When tightened it closes in front of the hind legs and stops any forward movement. Hfrs did hop a bit but soon settled with a good tail scratch.
Best advice I ever got was from reading about Temple Grandin - Google her - anyone involved with animals should read. Basically cows are a prey animal so anything we do to cause their adrenaline to rise will result in fear, stress, hassle and ultimately a lower income.
2nd thing I'd advise is get stray voltage checked, tis a bigger problem than we think but makes life a lot easier if sorted. Again if required google stray voltage dairy farm.
Hope she settles soon for you anyways

IPFree

2nd photo

IPFree

Farfield wrote: »

I have a real devil of a heifer this year that is real hard to break in. Most others this year were easy to break. Holding tail works with this one alright but its not always possible to have 2nd person in the parlour.
I dont like kick bars as my experience is they drive heifers mad with hopping around etc. Anyways, an awl fella told me years ago to put animals in the crush chute (head not in crush gate-so free to move back and forth) and get her used to/train her to the kick bar before putting it on her in the parlour. So i have now done this several days. Weird thing is she never mis-behaves with it in the crush and it could stay on her all day there and you could do anything to her, but put it on her in the parlour and she goes crazy. Any ideas why the difference???

How she working out for you now?

Farfield

IP she's fine now- just. But it took another person holding her tail upright for each milking for about 3 weeks to get there- a real balls!! I won't be breeding from her that's for sure!!

IPFree

Good job. Hope she milks buckets! Definitely breeding is a consideration. Ai'd a Hfr today who had been nutty all yesterday, looked up her breeding and yup, her dam is the same!

mf240

An ounce of breeding is worth a ton of feeding.

That applies to our own species as well.