Slat mats advice please!

Dot Cotton

Hi everyone

I'm hoping to put down slat mats in our small slatted unit in the next few weeks.

Can any of you recommend any particular brand? A friend was telling me about some green mats which as supposed to be the business but he wasn't sure of the name. Do any of you know these?

Many thanks

jfh

Dot Cotton wrote: »

Hi everyone

I'm hoping to put down slat mats in our small slatted unit in the next few weeks.

Can any of you recommend any particular brand? A friend was telling me about some green mats which as supposed to be the business but he wasn't sure of the name. Do any of you know these?

Many thanks

Comfort mats

charolais0153

Comfort mats are the greem ones and are more expensive than easyfix. Personally id use easyfix. Have them here and work well

grange mac

Dot Cotton wrote: »

Hi everyone

I'm hoping to put down slat mats in our small slatted unit in the next few weeks.

Can any of you recommend any particular brand? A friend was telling me about some green mats which as supposed to be the business but he wasn't sure of the name. Do any of you know these?






Put them in over summer. Comfort Slat mat, v expensive but everyone told me no comparison. Have notice my weanlings v comfortable on them. Prefer lie on them v concrete slab along back wall. Cattle sink into then but when wet they are v slippery for people....unless your 350kg's....

Pidae.m

Dot Cotton wrote: »

Hi everyone

I'm hoping to put down slat mats in our small slatted unit in the next few weeks.

Can any of you recommend any particular brand? A friend was telling me about some green mats which as supposed to be the business but he wasn't sure of the name. Do any of you know these?

Many thanks

Easy fix are the best overall. Green are great too but get slippy after a while.

Never wrestle with pigs

I've seen the above plus these all fitted in the one shed. These were by far the best. Will not lift after a few years. They stay very clean too.

http://www.condonengineering.ie/cherry-services/kraiburg-slat-rubber/

Snowfire

+1 easy fix. Good job

shrek008

Any sign of slat rubber to be included under tams scheme?

Wildsurfer

I wouldn't put in anything other than the green comfort slat mats. Just walk on them and feel the comfort that's in them. Also cattle stay spotless on them as with the curve on the mat it helps the muck go down into tank whereas black matting can lessen the amount of slat open. They are expensive though so maybe do some of the area rather than all in one go.

Dot Cotton

Thanks everyone. Seems it's comfort vs easy fix. I may be able to visit sheds that have both so will see from there.

Thanks again 🀗

Dunedin

Dot Cotton wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Seems it's comfort vs easy fix. I may be able to visit sheds that have both so will see from there.

Thanks again 🀗

Keep us updated on the research

Justjens

Don't forget Durapak, more give and more comfortable than Easyfix IMO.

Dot Cotton

Will do Dunedin.

Thanks justjens I'll check them out too 😊

farmersfriend

Justjens wrote: »

Don't forget Durapak, more give and more comfortable than Easyfix IMO.

don't get durapak, no customer service in my experience

Bass Reeves

Easyfix all the way. There are two comfort mats one is Mayo but rubber is very soft and needs a lot of trimming. Other comfort are a German brand but could not see how they would stand up over time. The theory of them is great sloped to let dung and liquids run off. However I taught they were too light. Another off putting thing was he needed to trim the edges of the slats to widen the grooves and I was not happy with that.

Never wrestle with pigs wrote: »

I've seen the above plus these all fitted in the one shed. These were by far the best. Will not lift after a few years. They stay very clean too.

http://www.condonengineering.ie/cherry-services/kraiburg-slat-rubber/

Just looking at taht setup here is someone spending money stupid all expensive gates, barriers etc and RSJ's not galvanized nad they look like 6X3 as well

renandstimpy

Not gone on them black mats with wedge to hold them in place .... in my opinion there is too much of the opening closed up for doing to go down ... work alright under bulls where meal feeding makes dung a bit softer but under cows or cattle on dry silage I have seen them get quiet dirty ..
That's why we went for the green ones that clip over slat ... spotlessly clean . We have them under cows and stores and no issue with anything slipping .. in now 2 years .

charolais0153

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Easyfix all the way. There are two comfort mats one is Mayo but rubber is very soft and needs a lot of trimming. Other comfort are a German brand but could not see how they would stand up over time. The theory of them is great sloped to let dung and liquids run off. However I taught they were too light. Another off putting thing was he needed to trim the edges of the slats to widen the grooves and I was not happy with that.



Just looking at taht setup here is someone spending money stupid all expensive gates, barriers etc and RSJ's not galvanized nad they look like 6X3 as well

The only pace the girder is going to go is at the floor and it doenst matter if its galvanised or Not then. They just bolt a new piece to floor and attach it to he good part of old girder.

MikeSoys

Dot Cotton wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Seems it's comfort vs easy fix. I may be able to visit sheds that have both so will see from there.

Thanks again ��

I'm thinking of getting mats on a new 4 bay that being done now, for store/finishing cattle ....from my research i was leaning towards comfort mats myself ...or easy fix as the cheaper 2nd place...

I'm going to ring them for a quote in the coming days for my 4 bay with 14' 6'' slats...believe there really expensive though!!:eek::eek:

there was talk about this being under TAMS 2 but not sure if they are ...

Dot Cotton

Hi Mikesoys

I went with easyfix mats in the end. There was a few reasons why I chose them over the comfort mats:

1. Price- they were over €750 less expensive than the comfort mats for 2 bays. I know this may not seem like much but this is only my second year in cattle & my bank account is still low enough so I have to be cautious enough still. I still have silage etc to buy!

2. When researching I went to see a shed with both types of mats fitted. It was quite obvious how much cleaner & drier the cattle on the comfort mats were but the cattle on the easyfix seemed happy too even though those easyfix mats were 10 years old approx.

3. A neighbour is a big cattle dealer & agent for a well known chain of factories. I asked his opinion as he has easyfix & he again sang the praises of the comfort mats BUT he said it all depends on the type of cattle you are finishing. He maintained the comfort mats are better for heavier cattle & intensively finishing cattle. Whereas for me with currently only 10 heifers that spend most of the year on grass, they wouldn't be worth it. Unless money was no object of course!

So after many discussions we went with easyfix & they are arriving only 10 days after placing the order.

funkey_monkey

Just how much of a difference do the mats make to keeping the animals clean?
Would you all lift them every year to check the slats for cracks etc?

We have approx 2' at back of the slats which is solid concrete - would you lay rubber on these too?

We're in a similar position to Dot in that we have younger cattle so maybe the Comfort mats might be overkill. Regardless, they do seem expensive.

In what terms are you getting a return on investment with them?

charolais0153

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Just how much of a difference do the mats make to keeping the animals clean?
Would you all lift them every year to check the slats for cracks etc?

We have approx 2' at back of the slats which is solid concrete - would you lay rubber on these too?

We're in a similar position to Dot in that we have younger cattle so maybe the Comfort mats might be overkill. Regardless, they do seem expensive.


In what terms are you getting a return on investment with them?

I would put mats at the back. Just solid horse mats or something.

They keep them cleaner but i wouldnt put them in just to keep them clean.

The slatas would sag before they d crack usually.

Cows would be very slow to show heat if they were on concrete whereas they jump up freely on the rubber