Milking Parlour addons

badgerhowlin

Hi,

Not sure if this was done before but what milking parlour item do you have that you could not live with out and what don't you have that you would like to have?

timple23

Good wash down hose.
Rubber mats in pit.

Nekarsulm

Throw out the jars and go direct to line with meters.
It's like a dodgem course dodging jars at 2 foot 2inch centres...

Mooooo

Extras I have;
Feeders.

Things I think essential if( hopefully when!) going again;
Better location in yard,
Good Drafting + better cow flow,
Acrs, take the pressure off if cows need prep etc,
Good light, natural and artificial
Good cleaning system, volume washer, scraper on backing gate or flush system for the yard etc.
Some form of system to reduce esb costs, heat recovery unit etc once there is a reasonable roi.

Like to have;
Dunno is there any point putting anything here as if the money was there I'd have an all singing and dancing rotary with all the bells and whistles but it's not lol

Tonynewholland

Auto wash but not sure it would actually save a lot of time.

davidk1394

Things that are coming on the parlor

ACRs
Auto wash
Milk indicators
Manger feeders
Rubber mats for the pit and where the cows stand
Hot washer

What I'd like to have:
Drafting
Heat detection
Rapid exit
All the fancy extras I dont really need.

timple23

davidk1394 wrote: »

Things that are coming on the parlor

ACRs

Is there much difference in price/unit for acrs vs non acrs?

Do you acrs come with the slot for the milk recording bottle up high as standard?

whelan2

On rapid exit, is there cows that still just stand there or are they pushed out? Would need fireworks to get mine out atm

Grueller

Mine is milk meters. I think they will be got when money allows. I have no jars so some cows are codding me by being slow rather than good.

The biggest thing I need and will do this spring is a new roadway. The cows cannot be left off on their own to the paddock straight from the parlour and have to be returned to a collecting yard as the current roadway runs between two ditches and they would level them if left to their own devices. They know they are going back to a yard and almost refuse to walk out of the parlour. The new roadway will also reduce my longest walk by 15 minutes each way as the roadway will go centrally through the mp rather than around the perimeter.

timple23

Can you fence off the ditches?

Grueller

timple23 wrote: »

Can you fence off the ditches?

No the roadway is too narrow. It a divil of a job really. 2 high ditches, the one on the sunny side is a bound ditch sonI can't even remove that to allow the roadway dry out. I own the roadway so I will remove my ditch on it and put the topsoil from my new roadway back into it to allow it back into the field. I will actually gain an acre by doing the new roadway as it will be half the length.

degetme

davidk1394 wrote: »

Things that are coming on the parlor

ACRs
Auto wash
Milk indicators
Manger feeders
Rubber mats for the pit and where the cows stand
Hot washer

What I'd like to have:
Drafting
Heat detection
Rapid exit
All the fancy extras I dont really need.

Are you putting in air gates

satstheway

whelan2 wrote: »

On rapid exit, is there cows that still just stand there or are they pushed out? Would need fireworks to get mine out atm

Sure they have to stand to $h!t

Wildsurfer

Couldn't live without hot water in the droppers in the pit. It amazes me that lads will freeze the hands of themselves for the sake of the price of a mixer valve on the water heater. The joy when the cold water turns warm makes milking an enjoyable experience!

tismesoitis

Imo the best spent money is our drafting unit. Amazing piece of kit. Its like having another man! Breeding season, sick cow, hoof care even today drafted out 31 for drying off...effortless.
Would like to have feed to yield.

Panch18

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Couldn't live without hot water in the droppers in the pit. It amazes me that lads will freeze the hands of themselves for the sake of the price of a mixer valve on the water heater. The joy when the cold water turns warm makes milking an enjoyable experience!

Was going to say ACR’s.

But yes yes yes to warm water in the droppers

Tonynewholland

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Couldn't live without hot water in the droppers in the pit. It amazes me that lads will freeze the hands of themselves for the sake of the price of a mixer valve on the water heater. The joy when the cold water turns warm makes milking an enjoyable experience!

It’s worth it just to warm your hands on a cold morning

cjpm

Panch18 wrote: »

Was going to say ACR’s.

But yes yes yes to warm water in the droppers

Washing cows with freezing cold water puts you at risk of developing Arthritis in your hands over time. At the very minimum the water should go through the plate cooler first to take the chill out of it.

davidk1394

timple23 wrote: »

Is there much difference in price/unit for acrs vs non acrs?

Do you acrs come with the slot for the milk recording bottle up high as standard?

An extra few hundred a unit. Yes it has the slot for the bottle but I think I'll go down the DIY route.

davidk1394

degetme wrote: »

Are you putting in air gates

Yes, vacuum gates front and back.

K.G.

At this i wouldn't describe feeders or wash down hose as add on s.only have feeders in 3 years but they revolutionised milking.we used to bucket a ton a day sometimes and it made a balls of filling the row.but invariably the thing that costs the least will benefit the most, a gate hanging the right way or the right entry and exit

timple23

davidk1394 wrote: »

An extra few hundred a unit. Yes it has the slot for the bottle but I think I'll go down the DIY route.

Dairymaster?

Bazzer007

We recently purchased secondhand milk meters and Acr's, waiting to get them fitted over the next few weeks. A drafting system would be great and looking into cluster flush but big money.

GrasstoMilk

Bazzer007 wrote: »

We recently purchased secondhand milk meters and Acr's, waiting to get them fitted over the next few weeks. A drafting system would be great and looking into cluster flush but big money.

Getting cluster flush fitted with parlour extension here c 450€ inc vat per unit

davidk1394

timple23 wrote: »

Dairymaster?

No. Delaval. An agent is not far away and I know the parlors well.

bogman_bass

Interesting that nobody has mentioned feed to yield

tismesoitis

bogman_bass wrote: »

Interesting that nobody has mentioned feed to yield

You clearly missed my post Mr Bass;)

Wildsurfer

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Getting cluster flush fitted with parlour extension here c 450€ inc vat per unit

Nooooo don't do it! Biggest waste of money I ever spent. I shut it off last year, oh my God the relief. Mine for sale for a fraction of that if your interested!

GrasstoMilk

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Nooooo don't do it! Biggest waste of money I ever spent. I shut it off last year, oh my God the relief. Mine for sale for a fraction of that if your interested!

Why? Track record of scc and mastitis in our herd and had a poor year this year, anyone I've talked too that has it think its the bees knees and wouldn't go without it

Wildsurfer

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Why? Track record of scc and mastitis in our herd and had a poor year this year, anyone I've talked too that has it think its the bees knees and wouldn't go without it

Yeah look it's a great job really. Will you buy mine...

mahoney_j

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Why? Track record of scc and mastitis in our herd and had a poor year this year, anyone I've talked too that has it think its the bees knees and wouldn't go without it

I’ve heard good reports about it too tbf but I’d be looking deeper if there’s an scc problem or mastitis issues cluster flush won’t solve it best way to solve an scc problem is to cull it out easy do it if milk recording obviously check earthing on parlour and good hygiene practices

On the parlour etc a hear detection and health monitoring system on my wish list

Wildsurfer

Ok the truth of cluster flush. Lads who tell you it's great have spent thousands on it, and it's hard to admit the truth then. I was one of those people. So the reasons: 1.It wont cure SCC. If you have a SCC problem, you have high SCC cows, flushing cluster after milking wont solve that. So you must solve that problem and then sort out the issues that are causing it. I threw my cluster flush out last year and SCC was lower this year. Not because I threw it out but because I sold the high SCC cows. The lads with the lowest scc I'm my group, below 50k, don't have any cluster flush, how are they doing it!
2. You will be broke buying drums of acid for it, no wonder milking machine salesmen push it, it's a continuous income stream for them. I got so fed up drawing drums to it that half the time there was only water doing the flush.
3. Cluster will have to hang from upper side so every time you swing across you will have to turn cluster around to attach to next cow. No better way to cause wrist problems if your milking alot of cows.
4. It slows milking for obvious reasons.
So to summarise: looks like a great idea, I got sucked in too, but please consider carefully before putting it in. Solve the cause of the problem, because this wont.

blackdog1

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Getting cluster flush fitted with parlour extension here c 450€ inc vat per unit

If your getting cluster flush there is a crowd in England that do one that dips the cows before taking off the cluster and then flushing the cluster. Adf milking is the crowd that do it.

GrasstoMilk

mahoney_j wrote: »

I’ve heard good reports about it too tbf but I’d be looking deeper if there’s an scc problem or mastitis issues cluster flush won’t solve it best way to solve an scc problem is to cull it out easy do it if milk recording obviously check earthing on parlour and good hygiene practices

On the parlour etc a hear detection and health monitoring system on my wish list

Didn't say it would solve the problem but it will be an aid to help us get it right
We lost the majority of our herd to scc and mastitis not so long ago and with the new dry cow tube regulations I'm not willing to take the risk on that affecting our herd again seeing as our herd has a poor history with it

We'll have enough units now so we shouldn't be waiting on units outside of peak

cjpm

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Ok the truth of cluster flush. Lads who tell you it's great have spent thousands on it, and it's hard to admit the truth then. I was one of those people. So the reasons: 1.It wont cure SCC. If you have a SCC problem, you have high SCC cows, flushing cluster after milking wont solve that. So you must solve that problem and then sort out the issues that are causing it. I threw my cluster flush out last year and SCC was lower this year. Not because I threw it out but because I sold the high SCC cows. The lads with the lowest scc I'm my group, below 50k, don't have any cluster flush, how are they doing it!
2. You will be broke buying drums of acid for it, no wonder milking machine salesmen push it, it's a continuous income stream for them. I got so fed up drawing drums to it that half the time there was only water doing the flush.
3. Cluster will have to hang from upper side so every time you swing across you will have to turn cluster around to attach to next cow. No better way to cause wrist problems if your milking alot of cows.
4. It slows milking for obvious reasons.
So to summarise: looks like a great idea, I got sucked in too, but please consider carefully before putting it in. Solve the cause of the problem, because this wont.

Fair play for such a detailed reply. Thanks

Tonynewholland

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Ok the truth of cluster flush. Lads who tell you it's great have spent thousands on it, and it's hard to admit the truth then. I was one of those people. So the reasons: 1.It wont cure SCC. If you have a SCC problem, you have high SCC cows, flushing cluster after milking wont solve that. So you must solve that problem and then sort out the issues that are causing it. I threw my cluster flush out last year and SCC was lower this year. Not because I threw it out but because I sold the high SCC cows. The lads with the lowest scc I'm my group, below 50k, don't have any cluster flush, how are they doing it!
2. You will be broke buying drums of acid for it, no wonder milking machine salesmen push it, it's a continuous income stream for them. I got so fed up drawing drums to it that half the time there was only water doing the flush.
3. Cluster will have to hang from upper side so every time you swing across you will have to turn cluster around to attach to next cow. No better way to cause wrist problems if your milking alot of cows.
4. It slows milking for obvious reasons.
So to summarise: looks like a great idea, I got sucked in too, but please consider carefully before putting it in. Solve the cause of the problem, because this wont.

How much a year did you spend on acid?

Wildsurfer

Tonynewholland wrote: »

How much a year did you spend on acid?

I don't know tbh but I just know I used to have a stack of empty 25L drums outside the Dairy door!

GrasstoMilk

Wildsurfer wrote: »

I don't know tbh but I just know I used to have a stack of empty 25L drums outside the Dairy door!

Why didn't you use 200l barrels
Cheaper and wouldn't be used as often

mahoney_j

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Didn't say it would solve the problem but it will be an aid to help us get it right
We lost the majority of our herd to scc and mastitis not so long ago and with the new dry cow tube regulations I'm not willing to take the risk on that affecting our herd again seeing as our herd has a poor history with it

We'll have enough units now so we shouldn't be waiting on units outside of peak

Wouldn’t be concerned about dry cow tubes they’ll still be got

mahoney_j

blackdog1 wrote: »

If your getting cluster flush there is a crowd in England that do one that dips the cows before taking off the cluster and then flushing the cluster. Adf milking is the crowd that do it.

I’ve a Gea parlour and they have a cluster that milks ,teat dips before taking off cluster and then flushes once off ,called appolo system costs circa 1300 per unit

bogman_bass

tismesoitis wrote: »

You clearly missed my post Mr Bass;)

Oops missed the last line of that post!

Grueller

mahoney_j wrote: »

I’ve a Gea parlour and they have a cluster that milks ,teat dips before taking off cluster and then flushes once off ,called appolo system costs circa 1300 per unit

Ouch. I got a whole parlour,teat spray unit, plate cooler, sump pump, mangers, stall work supplied and fitted for €2100 a unit. That's some price for that system.

mahoney_j

Grueller wrote: »

Ouch. I got a whole parlour,teat spray unit, plate cooler, sump pump, mangers, stall work supplied and fitted for €2100 a unit. That's some price for that system.

Tbf it’s a serious piece of kit lots of units sold all around the world

awaywithyou

mahoney_j wrote: »

I’ve a Gea parlour and they have a cluster that milks ,teat dips before taking off cluster and then flushes once off ,called appolo system costs circa 1300 per unit

Another crowd had that system but if I’m not mistaken wasn’t there high levels of teat dip showing up in the milk??

awaywithyou

blackdog1 wrote: »

If your getting cluster flush there is a crowd in England that do one that dips the cows before taking off the cluster and then flushing the cluster. Adf milking is the crowd that do it.

Just seen ur post now... that’s the crowd I was referring to...

mahoney_j

awaywithyou wrote: »

Another crowd had that system but if I’m not mistaken wasn’t there high levels of teat dip showing up in the milk??

Gea had all those problems in development but all ironed out now and loads of happy customers ,I know there’s at least one farm up north with it