milking parlor

milkprofit

Hope to milk 260 __300 cows
Which would u build rotary or herring bone 24 or 36
Have u experience of above

atlantic mist

well max at 200 and went wit 20 swing over herringbone, if we could go to the 300 we would hav just went the 24, wouldnt mind a rotary but was pricey if memory serves me right
are they more expensive to service with the moving deck, anyone hav one?

Timmaay

12rows in a 24unit is 288 cows, and with acrs, a dumpline, semi auto drafting and some sort of backing gate in the holding yard the one man should have no problems doing the milking on his own outside of calving/breeding. Surely 2 men needed for 36units. How much does the price jump for a rotary? As a total off the wall option, how muchy would 3 or 4 robots cost ha, all your land is on the one block?

tomieen jones

milkprofit wrote: »

Hope to milk 260 __300 cows
Which would u build rotary or herring bone 24 or 36
Have u experience of above

are you starting from scratch or milking cows already?

whelan2

Timmaay wrote: »

12rows in a 24unit is 288 cows, and with acrs, a dumpline, semi auto drafting and some sort of backing gate in the holding yard the one man should have no problems doing the milking on his own outside of calving/breeding. Surely 2 men needed for 36units. How much does the price jump for a rotary? As a total off the wall option, how muchy would 3 or 4 robots cost ha, all your land is on the one block?

think 10 rows is enough for anyone to milk .

RightTurnClyde

milkprofit wrote: »

Hope to milk 260 __300 cows
Which would u build rotary or herring bone 24 or 36
Have u experience of above

If they're higher yielding cows, I'd go 20units doubled up with rapid exit with the bells and whistles. You'll have the output of a 30 unit swing over. two people in it would give you high output, but 1 would be more than capable of running it. Rotary would be the last option I would look at.

jaymla627

Stay a million miles away from a rotary unless your planning on milking 500 plus cows, have milked in 70 60 and 50 bail rotarys and the only one I was impressed with was the 70 unit weapon of a machine that was laid out perfectly and could fly through cows....
The other two especially the 50 unit where really poorly designed as regards cow flow,pit depth, cluster set up bailing and struggled to milk 200 cows an hour then you have trying to train in heifers which isnt to simple on rotarys, another issue is wash up time talking a good 40 minutes to wash up a 50 bail if your on your own

C0N0R

milkprofit wrote: »

Hope to milk 260 __300 cows
Which would u build rotary or herring bone 24 or 36
Have u experience of above

Money no object rotary all day long, one man can easily handle a 60 unit rotary once she has cup removers.

Realistically the 24 unit herring bone is another one man operation outside of calving, with the right man and good cow flow you wouldn't need acrs or a dumpline,just run anything to be held in a separate herd and milk last.

C0N0R

jaymla627 wrote: »

Stay a million miles away from a rotary unless your planning on milking 500 plus cows, have milked in 70 60 and 50 bail rotarys and the only one I was impressed with was the 70 unit weapon of a machine that was laid out perfectly and could fly through cows....
The other two especially the 50 unit where really poorly designed as regards cow flow,pit depth, cluster set up bailing and struggled to milk 200 cows an hour then you have trying to train in heifers which isnt to simple on rotarys, another issue is wash up time talking a good 40 minutes to wash up a 50 bail if your on your own

Personally disagree, worked a 54 bail for a year, by the time all the cows had left the platform I'd have all the cups hung up, while the wash was going through I'd have the inside of the shed hosed and an automatic backing gate with a washer on it cleaned the yard, at good going I'd have 500 milked in an hour and a half 20 mins to wash and away home. It all depends how well the shed is setup and who builds it etc

jaymla627

C0N0R wrote: »

Personally disagree, worked a 54 bail for a year, by the time all the cows had left the platform I'd have all the cups hung up, while the wash was going through I'd have the inside of the shed hosed and an automatic backing gate with a washer on it cleaned the yard, at good going I'd have 500 milked in an hour and a half 20 mins to wash and away home. It all depends how well the shed is setup and who builds it etc

Like I said the 50 bail I milked in was poorly designed, obviously when you where getting 500 through in that time the cows where giving sub 20 litres, what kills a rotary with high yielding/fresh cows is when say 20% plus of milkers have to go around a second rotation, the 70 bail I milked on was absolutely perfect as you had minimal cows coming around a 2nd time....
Design like you said is very important especially pit depth where your cupping was crippled on that 50 bail as it was designed for want of a better word midgets

hurling_lad

Timmaay wrote: »

12rows in a 24unit is 288 cows, and with acrs, a dumpline, semi auto drafting and some sort of backing gate in the holding yard the one man should have no problems doing the milking on his own outside of calving/breeding. Surely 2 men needed for 36units. How much does the price jump for a rotary? As a total off the wall option, how muchy would 3 or 4 robots cost ha, all your land is on the one block?

Are there any examples in the country of 200 cows being milked by robot?

Timmaay

hurling_lad wrote: »

Are there any examples in the country of 200 cows being milked by robot?

There's a farm in meath with 3 of them I think, plenty jex and pure low input grass based system. More expensive capital cost but from what I'm hearing the extra yield and reduced labour bill if you don't milk yourself full time makes it alot more attractive.

Milked out

No experience of parlours of this size but I would look at a 26 to 30 unit rapid exit swingover herringbone as well, the time saving in the exit could make them a one man show for a good bit of the year

keep going

Just out of curiosity, what have ye spent on parlours .my own case, put in 8 unit in 01 for 5000 pounds concrete parlour and any paid labour.extended to 10 in07 for 2400 euros(got abit ripped off there).added on 4 this year for around 5000 concrete and metal and all , we refloored the whole parlour and have a drafting system as well.im gobsmacked at some of the money im hearing fellas are spending on parlours

Greengrass1

keep going wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, what have ye spent on parlours .my own case, put in 8 unit in 01 for 5000 pounds concrete parlour and any paid labour.extended to 10 in07 for 2400 euros(got abit ripped off there).added on 4 this year for around 5000 concrete and metal and all , we refloored the whole parlour and have a drafting system as well.im gobsmacked at some of the money im hearing fellas are spending on parlours

We put a 12 unit in and a dairy in a 5 bay hay shed here. 15k fir all block work concrete and steel. Dearest part is parlour were considering just going to 16/18 units instead of the 12 parlour coming in at 2200/unit

keep going

Greengrass1 wrote: »

We put a 12 unit in and a dairy in a 5 bay hay shed here. 15k fir all block work concrete and steel. Dearest part is parlour were considering just going to 16/18 units instead of the 12 parlour coming in at 2200/unit

A cheap way of adding on six is to buy a 6 unit and run the pipe from separately back to the jar, the smaller pipe is much cheaper than sizing up the main line plus the added benifit is its easier to clean than the bigger pipe sizes

Greengrass1

keep going wrote: »

A cheap way of adding on six is to buy a 6 unit and run the pipe from separately back to the jar, the smaller pipe is much cheaper than sizing up the main line plus the added benifit is its easier to clean than the bigger pipe sizes

True been looking through done deal for few months now but only seeing parlours with jars. I hate jars in a pit

Timmaay

In around 3200 per unit for a new 14 unit after grants/vat etc. That's all in, shed, concrete, pig feeders, electrical and plumbing, parlour included acrs, milk meters and swingover arms. Decent bit of my own labour during the build also.

whelan2

Timmaay wrote: »

In around 3200 per unit for a new 14 unit after grants/vat etc. That's all in, shed, concrete, pig feeders, electrical and plumbing, parlour included acrs, milk meters and swingover arms. Decent bit of my own labour during the build also.

how are you finding it, are you saving much time, no timeto rest between rows:)

Timmaay

whelan2 wrote: »

think 10 rows is enough for anyone to milk .

If you milk full time yourself definitely, but for hired milkers who will probably be travelling etc for milkings I don't see any issue with it. Would the single Milker survive in a 30 unit parlour?

On the sequential bailing don't know if I'm convinced about them at all, just too many different design options for them still by different manufacturers which says they are still work in progress, a tidy set of scissor gates up the front in a standard 2ft6 centre parlour and let the cows flow through continuously I think is the most cost effective and safer method.

awaywithyou

whelan2 wrote: »

think 10 rows is enough for anyone to milk .

24 rows of cows here at the minute..... very enjoyable... definitely the most enjoyable 6-8 hrs of the day.....

















i wish

mahoney_j

14 unit loads of bells and whistles nearly 7 k per unit.one man job all year cups on to cups off in 50 minutes for nearly 90 cows and no sprinting up and down parlour,no froth in jars and hanging about,stress free for man and cow only thing I didn't put in is drafting which I regret and would probably swap the dump line for it if doing it again.some will say it's crazy money id disagree ,I know exactly what every cow is doing daily yield wise and conductivity is can excellent indicator if a cow is sick for getting mastitis.,feed to yield invaluable I could go on but I'm off to round up cows for evening milking and clock off before 5.45!!!

keep going

whelan2 wrote: »

how are you finding it, are you saving much time, no timeto rest between rows:)

You certainly wouldn't be picking you nose during milking, I spray and let off the first 10 cows before I change the rest in the evening but I do it after 8 in the morning as the cows leave faster when they are going straight to grass in the evening

Timmaay

whelan2 wrote: »

how are you finding it, are you saving much time, no timeto rest between rows:)

1st week or so defo under pressure ha, but got it grand now, acrs are the one luxury I'd struggle without 2bh. 6 rows from clusters on to hitting the autowasher in about 50mins, calves the only thing who get slightly less attention between rows, that's more because they are all over the shop in small batches of diff pens, need to change around a few things next yr and keep them closer to the parlour.

trixi2011

milkprofit wrote: »

Hope to milk 260 __300 cows
Which would u build rotary or herring bone 24 or 36
Have u experience of above

would defiantly go for a 24 unit no need for a 36 inless your going to be going north of 300. rapid exit and sequential bailing increase row time not reduce it

Viewtodiefor

trixi2011 wrote: »

would defiantly go for a 24 unit no need for a 36 inless your going to be going north of 300. rapid exit and sequential bailing increase row time not reduce it

Have ya milked in one trixi? See a lad do 155 cows with sequential baling 24 units in 50 mins on his own. N 15 mins wash up.

Viewtodiefor

milkprofit wrote: »

Hope to milk 260 __300 cows
Which would u build rotary or herring bone 24 or 36
Have u experience of above

If you want to milk 300 you need more than 24 too many rows if your doing a lot of the milking yourself. Ten rows is more than enough for any man,

Less maintenance in a rapid exit and lower building cost than a rotary

jack o shea

i upgraded mine after, from 6 to 9 unit, new bin and fedders put in which i didnt have before,new milk line vacuum line,new bigger jar,looking at about 20 k. sound ok or was i foolish?

jaymla627

jack o shea wrote: »

i upgraded mine after, from 6 to 9 unit, new bin and fedders put in which i didnt have before,new milk line vacuum line,new bigger jar,looking at about 20 k. sound ok or was i foolish?

Sounds about right the bin feeders and augurs would account for a good chunk of the 20k

Viewtodiefor

jack o shea wrote: »

i upgraded mine after, from 6 to 9 unit, new bin and fedders put in which i didnt have before,new milk line vacuum line,new bigger jar,looking at about 20 k. sound ok or was i foolish?

What kinda feeders jack

trixi2011

Viewtodiefor wrote: »

Have ya milked in one trixi? See a lad do 155 cows with sequential baling 24 units in 50 mins on his own. N 15 mins wash up.

I have was more getting at the rapid exit slowing things down the sequentialbbailing is just unnesesary large expence

milkprofit

tomieen jones wrote: »

are you starting from scratch or milking cows already?

220 in 12 unit 3 hrs morn 2 in evening

jack o shea

crowleys bin and feeders, view.

Viewtodiefor

trixi2011 wrote: »

I have was more getting at the rapid exit slowing things down the sequentialbbailing is just unnesesary large expence

Depends who ya talk to, lots of lads love it

trixi2011

Viewtodiefor wrote: »

Depends who ya talk to, lots of lads love it

Your right have a mate with a 24 dairymaster with bailing loves it but does it realy have enoungh benifit to justify the cost . Know of a few farms were rapid exit has been pulled out in favour of a breast rail

visatorro

jack o shea wrote:

i upgraded mine after, from 6 to 9 unit, new bin and fedders put in which i didnt have before,new milk line vacuum line,new bigger jar,looking at about 20 k. sound ok or was i foolish?

terror it doesn't be long adding up. its still around 2000 a unit which wouldn't be too far wrong. bit of comfort Is great and you'd wonder how you ever milked without it

Viewtodiefor

trixi2011 wrote: »

Your right have a mate with a 24 dairymaster with bailing loves it but does it realy have enoungh benifit to justify the cost . Know of a few farms were rapid exit has been pulled out in favour of a breast rail

Horses for courses,
Couldn't imagine how a breast rail would be better less cow control and more movement.

Damo810

Milking 230 in a 20 unit no ACR's by myself,bottle teat sprayers, dipping clusters between cows as well. No bells, no whistles, other than the dumpline.

Fair going to it though, not a lot of comfort with it, plenty of running to make sure cows don't get over milked and I wouldn't see it viable for a person getting on a bit. Pit is too shallow too, hard on the back at times.

jack o shea

and here is me thinking im under pressure getting used to 9 units from 6 ha

frazzledhome

Viewtodiefor wrote: »

Have ya milked in one trixi? See a lad do 155 cows with sequential baling 24 units in 50 mins on his own. N 15 mins wash up.

Have all heifers here on home farm this year 160 through 16 units 75 mins. Absolute bear bones parlour but have batch feeders and good drafting. Other parlour is 20 unit putting out 150 per hour with auto drafting

On Op's question I think I'd be going 24-26 units max with straight breast rail, zigzag rump, batch feeders and excellent most likely auto id drafting. No dump line, with your numbers there will always be a penno/lame few that will be milked seperatly

Viewtodiefor

Agree drafting a must . Zig zag rail wast of time in my book achieves nothing , I wouldn't take batch feeders if ya gave me a present of them! Ya sure you could do it with 26 n get someone else to milk

frazzledhome

What's wrong with batch feeders?

Greengrass1

frazzledhome wrote: »

What's wrong with batch feeders?

There not dear enough

freedominacup

Greengrass1 wrote: »

There not dear enough

Right so. Make yer cases. 32l here, 3.5 pr and around 4 bf. 25% autumn calvers and 45% heifers. Cows getting 4kg of a 16%(which I keep meaning to change) maize based ration plus 3 kg/dm of wholecrop in a buffer feed. No in parlour feeding at all, not even provision for troughs just a straight breast rail. Which should I go for and how much cost savings or extra performance will I get from the system you would recommend.

mahoney_j

freedominacup wrote: »

Right so. Make yer cases. 32l here, 3.5 pr and around 4 bf. 25% autumn calvers and 45% heifers. Cows getting 4kg of a 16%(which I keep meaning to change) maize based ration plus 3 kg/dm of wholecrop in a buffer feed. No in parlour feeding at all, not even provision for troughs just a straight breast rail. Which should I go for and how much cost savings or extra performance will I get from the system you would recommend.

Ain't Brocken why fix it,u buffer feeding all year???.if no wc going in presume you still feed meal through feeder.in parlour feeders would save u a job if that's all ur going to be putting through the feeder for a fair chink of summer

freedominacup

mahoney_j wrote: »

Ain't Brocken why fix it,u buffer feeding all year???.if no wc going in presume you still feed meal through feeder.in parlour feeders would save u a job if that's all ur going to be putting through the feeder for a fair chink of summer

I don't think I'd be putting in wc atm if not for the fact that I'm fcuked if I'm going barrowing that amount of meal twice a day. Feeder no good to put out meal only imo. Impossible to keep it even.

Viewtodiefor

Greengrass1 wrote: »

There not dear enough

I my view they are actually too dear for what they do, very little flexibility with them you can't feed individually with them so if in your case you have different type of cows then your at nothing with them. In freedoms case he doesn't need feeders as wagon n whole crop buffer fed so he doesn't need them unless he wants to retire the wagon and give himself an easier life then proper feeders are the way forward for him.

Milked out

freedominacup wrote: »

I don't think I'd be putting in wc atm if not for the fact that I'm fcuked if I'm going barrowing that amount of meal twice a day. Feeder no good to put out meal only imo. Impossible to keep it even.

Same as yourself here free but using a root chopper to throw out the ration,used to throw it out with buckets before which is a Bollox of a job. Still adds close on an hour to the day messing around in and out of the shed. 2 issues with it is the fact that some weaker cows aren't getting their allocation and alsi seem to get lameness issues in the front legs from some of them tearing to get at the barrier. Will be putting in individual feeders here as hope to keep spring and winter milkers in one herd as much as possible so should save on time and ration in the shoulders particularly, this time of year flat rate feeding seems to do fine as autumn girls respond to the feed well

frazzledhome

I did all that bollixing with diet feeders and loader scoops for feeding meal to cows, ball ache. This job needs to be convienient. Best day of my life to date was the day the diet feeder left this yard

I can see the inflexability of batch feeders but the vast majority of herds in Ireland are spring block calved so one size fits all approach works and if it doesn't you've the wrong cow for the system

Winter and spring here and batch works really well

dar31

Any experience with sequential feeding.
Cows transponder is read at the stall and then feed. Ment to speed up entry as cows know they will fbe fed as soon as they are in the right place. ment to achieve an extra row an hour.
Can feed down to 200g per milking.

Want a one man show so cow flow is essential

RightTurnClyde

dar31 wrote: »

Any experience with sequential feeding.
Cows transponder is read at the stall and then feed. Ment to speed up entry as cows know they will fbe fed as soon as they are in the right place. ment to achieve an extra row an hour.
Can feed down to 200g per milking.

Want a one man show so cow flow is essential

Have it here since 2003. Works great. Absolutely trouble free. Cow entry is very fast. Much better than mechanical seq bailing. I have it here for the same reason. I've trained 40+ heifers on my own for the last number of years, without any great trouble. The 200g feeding keeps heifers very quiet. Fullwood? FTY?