Dairy Chit Chat- Please read Mod note in post #1

pedigree 6

Here's my crib.









There you can see the drain. I put the parlour in nearly 7 years ago now.
It's not as big as yours Freejin. It's eight units but you get the idea.
The main reason for doing it was the cow standing area slopes from the back to the front (the same as the milk pipes) and I had to get the dirty water back to the slatted tank at the back. I was looking at grids but I was thinking they would be a bit awkward with blocking up underneath so went with it open.
It's handy that way as your able to keep the drain clean everyday with the volume washer.
I have the volume washer in the pit. So I'm nearly able to clean all the parlour from the pit (just the front I have to get up for).

If your putting down a new floor, I left a light tamped finish and with that and the kerbing, touch wood I have never had a cow slip or fall in the parlour.
Then don't forget the reinforcing iron mesh for the floor and go for the 8 or 10ml (don't go for the light stuff).
Make sure and weld all the meshing together (for bonding) and weld it to the posts for the rump rails and the pillars of the shed (you can weld up a piece of reinforcing to go under the drain).
Then go for 40N concrete for the floor. Don't try and save money on that either.
Make sure your kerbing is bonded (welded) to the posts as well.

Then for the drain itself. You'll have to concrete the bottom and fall in the drain first. Then a few days later you can do the floor. I used (I think) a 6x3 board for the drain. Don't make the mistake I made and concrete the two sides at the same time. It was a fe*ker to get the board out of it and some of the lighter concrete came up with it and I had to redo it. Maybe might be better to do on side first and tap off and then do the other side (so won't get stuck) or maybe oil the plank. Ah you'll work it out.:D

I think that's all.

Water John

That looks good. If you oil/grease well a timber insert in a floor or wall it should ease out. You could also put a taper on the timber.

pedigree 6

Mooooo wrote: »

http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/19-arrested-in-china-for-selling-expired-milk-powder
Whether or not itll make any odds for us or not I dunno but bound to hit consumer confidence

That's always happening out there.

pedigree 6

Water John wrote: »

That looks good. If you oil/grease well a timber insert in a floor or wall it should ease out. You could also put a taper on the timber.

Now you're talking. That'd do it.

kerry cow

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .

freedominacup

kerry cow wrote: »

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .

At our strike rate when restocking you are going to do a lot of travelling if you want to buy in small lots like this. We eventually contacted one of the herdbuilder crowds and we bought stock in every yard they brought us to. They knew where the stock we wanted were. On our own recognizance we were only after finding stock that suited us on one day out of five. Fellas be they auctioneers or farmer sellers will lie through their teeth to get you into the yard. Plus, and I wouldn't be behind the door on this myself, farmers usually have an inflated perception of the quality of their own stock. More than once we went into yards expecting great things to be presented with stock we wouldnt have had any interest in at all. The herdbuilders charge buyer and seller but diesel and time aren't free either.

yewtree

kerry cow wrote: »

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .[/QUOTE

Getting 60 genuine 2nd calvers might be hard enough. My opinion for what its worth would be to buy incalf heifers, it easier to get bigger batches and the fewer batches bought in the less chance of bringing in disease.
agree with previous post regarding using a herdbuilder, they can weed out a lot of the rubbish.

Freejin

Thanks pedigree, exactly what I was after. I wonder would a 6" pipe cut in half instead of the timber and leave it in there be another solution?

Mooooo

Neighbour did that, split a pipeven, not cut in half, and put too pieces of angle iron either side and welded spacers between the angle iron to keep it open while setting

pedigree 6

Mooooo wrote: »

Neighbour did that, split a pipeven, not cut in half, and put too pieces of angle iron either side and welded spacers between the angle iron to keep it open while setting

I think I'd just make sure and get the angle iron galvanized.
I made up the kerbing for my one and regret not getting it galvanized.
All steel in a milking parlour should be galvanized.

Freejin

pedigree 6 wrote: »

I think I'd just make sure and get the angle iron galvanized.
I made up the kerbing for my one and regret not getting it galvanized.
All steel in a milking parlour should be galvanized.

Ya,I'll probably stick to the open channel, yours looks the finest and no issues with it getting blocked

Mooooo

It was galvanised alrite.

visatorro

kerry cow wrote: »

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .

I wouldn't worry about them getting lonely. You will buy quality stock but as freedom says you'd want you'd want plenty of patience going round a good few places. Could be value in in calf stock. You'd want to be looking in journal/donedeal the whole time.

Mooooo

kerry cow wrote: »

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .

Making sure that the herds you buy from vaccinate for most things would be important as mixing and the stress of moving would leave em vulnerable

pedigree 6

Freejin wrote: »

Ya,I'll probably stick to the open channel, yours looks the finest and no issues with it getting blocked

Oh jeez. Don't let me put you off.
If you have enough dept along the channel from the floor to the drain.
The pipe is a great job.
At the end of my drain, can't see it in the photo is a 4 in pipe with the top cut in it and that goes into the slurry tank.
If you want to get steel galvanized (not sure where you are) galco in Waterford do it. Plenty others around the country as well.

Here's a rubbish picture but there's a 4 in pipe in that drain with the top cut off it.

Buford T. Justice XIX

French consumers agree to pay dairy farmers 39c/l for their Milk. Shop price is dearer.

http://www.farmersjournal.ie/french-consumers-vote-to-pay-farmers-39c-l-under-new-milk-brand-232565

degetme

kerry cow wrote: »

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .

no problem find incalf heifers. wev eight going to kilmallock dairy sale in two weeks

Brown Podzol

kerry cow wrote: »

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .

Consider buying a herd of cows from someone retiring from dairying. Cows incalf heifers and maidens. The type of cow and ebi you have in mind. Putting a herd together from different herds is a risky business especially from a disease point of view. Cows from different herds will have different disease profiles and cows will have resistance to their own bugs but not necessarily resistance to bugs from other herds, also a hierarchy will already have been formed. Consider also the tome involved travelling the country trying to find 60 cows from various herds meeting the your criteria.

Jexbullcalf

Grasstec and cows.ie might be worth a shot, buying and selling cows to whole time.

greysides

The more farms you buy from, the greater the odds of bringing in disease, or more strains of the same disease. Be prepared to vaccinate for several things.

whelan2

greysides wrote: »

The more farms you buy from, the greater the odds of bringing in disease, or more strains of the same disease. Be prepared to vaccinate for several things.

Indeed know of a farmer has had to cull 30 cows due to an ecoli outbreak. He is blaming bought in stock.

rangler1

whelan2 wrote: »

Indeed know of a farmer has had to cull 30 cows due to an ecoli outbreak. He is blaming bought in stock.

mixing different stock is bad business, probably rearing from calves gives them a better chance to build immunity

Panch18

Freejin wrote: »

Has anybody any experience of putting drainage channels on the cow stands of milking parlour? Something similar to the attached? Redoing floors here this winter and wondering would an open channel do underneath the mangers rather than spending on this type of setup? There will be a fall from the pit to under the mangers. 14 unit pit so not overly long

No need for a drain at all

Have a fall from the pit edge towards the trough, then have a fall towards the tank or wherever you want the water to go. Have no drain in our parlour but the falls are correct and it works perfectly. 14 unit also

Timmaay

I'm planning on feeding more straw to the heifers here during the 7th month to reduce difficult calvings etc (jacked out far too many this spring), I don't actually have a huge amount of straw, but the neighbour is selling hay fairly cheap. Would that do the job of straw instead??

Panch18

Brown Podzol wrote: »

kerry cow wrote: »

Hi lads .
As some may know I am in process of starting to milk next year .
Was thinking of buying some second calvers for easy of milking ,high ebi around 5200l .will they be hard to find and would they be best buy calved .was thinking of buying in groups of 8 per farm so as not to have too many loners . 60 cows to buy .any thoughts .

Consider buying a herd of cows from someone retiring from dairying. Cows incalf heifers and maidens. The type of cow and ebi you have in mind. Putting a herd together from different herds is a risky business especially from a disease point of view. Cows from different herds will have different disease profiles and cows will have resistance to their own bugs but not necessarily resistance to bugs from other herds, also a hierarchy will already have been formed. Consider also the tome involved travelling the country trying to find 60 cows from various herds meeting the your criteria.

This is the route I'd try to go down if it was me

Injuryprone

Panch18 wrote: »

No need for a drain at all

Have a fall from the pit edge towards the trough, then have a fall towards the tank or wherever you want the water to go. Have no drain in our parlour but the falls are correct and it works perfectly. 14 unit also

Sorry, but I'm struggling to get my head round this, are you saying you've everything falling to the front to match the machine and just the concrete under the trough falling to the back. I'm puzzled

Injuryprone

Timmaay wrote: »

I'm planning on feeding more straw to the heifers here during the 7th month to reduce difficult calvings etc (jacked out far too many this spring), I don't actually have a huge amount of straw, but the neighbour is selling hay fairly cheap. Would that do the job of straw instead??

Yes. Local monitor farm puts them in hay for last couple of weeks

Mooooo

Concrete doesn't have to match fall of the machine, milk line and pit falls opposite here. Once the fall on the stand is from the pit to the wall under the manger and the fall is then to where ever the tank is would be alrite too, just have the right fella finishing the concrete

Panch18

Mooooo wrote: »

Concrete doesn't have to match fall of the machine, milk line and pit falls opposite here. Once the fall on the stand is from the pit to the wall under the manger and the fall is then to where ever the tank is would be alrite too, just have the right fella finishing the concrete

I think you said that much better than I did, that's exactly what I mean!

pedigree 6

Mooooo wrote: »

Concrete doesn't have to match fall of the machine, milk line and pit falls opposite here. Once the fall on the stand is from the pit to the wall under the manger and the fall is then to where ever the tank is would be alrite too, just have the right fella finishing the concrete

Don't have to but it makes everything nice and even looking.
Milk line is the same height from the pit floor at the back as well as front.
Basically looks better.:D;)

That was the teagasc parlour plans and guy who put in the parlour who I went off at the time.