Un-attended cow crossing .. for Robot system

[Sid]

If you do decide to go ahead push the animal welfare point. Not housing cows, extending grazing , consumers.
The council won't care about your business or welfare but they will about the cows welfare and market.

For me it would be an underpass seen them in Ireland on robots. 500m is doable with good tracks and the right set up.

 

[Vizslaman]

What about automatic gates or barriers that close the road completely like railway crossing.
They would not require road closure to install cattle grids or install underpass.
The technology is already out there and proven

 

[Foregoneconclusion]

I had been thinking about the auto gate system.. as you say like a railway crossing.. i guess the thing about a train is that it moves fairly predictably one way or another.. the cows however may loiter.. or change their minds!! I'm sure a solution can be found.. its just the highways guys may not have the cojones to reach a solution...

 

[Henarar]

whats wrong with my bridge idea ? I thought you would have got it built by now and taken some pics

 

[multi power]

Thanks Dragon..An intriguing solution but a slow one presumably and one that requires a frighteningly large quantity of concrete.?
The road i will be crossing is one of two roads that lead to the village and current farm location so there's a fair amount of traffic in and out.. more so when the tide is across the other road! The highways team are at pains to ensure that we never close the road..presumably tis system requires a huge ditch to be dug and then the steels etc fixed on site? Tricky to see on the website.

Road closed here for 5 days, I'd have pulled my finger out and done it in 3 days
Was only allowed to be closed for a week during school holidays

 

[yin ewe]

I had been thinking about the auto gate system.. as you say like a railway crossing.. i guess the thing about a train is that it moves fairly predictably one way or another.. the cows however may loiter.. or change their minds!! I'm sure a solution can be found.. its just the highways guys may not have the cojones to reach a solution...

Would work fine on a normal parlour set-up when cows go out at same time, on robot cows would be coming in or out fairly steady all day so barrier would be up and down like a yoyo!

 

[Sid]

Are you going to running a ABC grazing system or will it be set stocked?
How much extra grazing will it give you 20,30,50%?
Why not buffer feed either as fresh grass or silage that block.(presuming your not organic)

 

[multi power]

@Foregoneconclusion how about a really wacky idea, make your robot portable and take it to the field

 

[Henarar]

@Foregoneconclusion how about a really wacky idea, make your robot portable and take it to the field

perhaps get a robot that could walk out to the field where the cows are and milk them

 

[O'Reilly]

@Foregoneconclusion how about a really wacky idea, make your robot portable and take it to the field

There was that German chap did that wasn't there? Can't remember which magazine it was in

 

[Sid]

perhaps get a robot that could walk out to the field where the cows are and milk them

One like this?

 

[ploughman1963]

@Foregoneconclusion what number of cows are you planning to milk on robots? How far will the cows reliably walk back to the robot? I see a figure of 500m mentioned?

 

[Henarar]

View attachment 611980
One like this?

can think of worse
nice udder as well

 

[Headless chicken]

@Foregoneconclusion what number of cows are you planning to milk on robots? How far will the cows reliably walk back to the robot? I see a figure of 500m mentioned?

If they were Scottish and ginger then I would think 500 more

 

[ploughman1963]

We are currently walking our holsteinx friesians up to 1000m without issues to furthest paddocks but would theycome back unassisted to milk?

 

[Sid]

We are currently walking our holsteinx friesians up to 1000m without issues to furthest paddocks but would theycome back unassisted to milk?

I know a guy with a red robots making his cows walk a fair distance and up and down but he has no water in paddocks

 

[Vizslaman]

How things have progressed from going out with the dog to get the cows in and then washing by hand and
cluster and bucket milking.
We used to milk 150 head twice a day

I do not think I would know where to start with a modern system

 

[ploughman1963]

labour! That is the issue

 

[Henarar]

labour! That is the issue

really there are plenty of folk would like to milk a few cows

 

[ploughman1963]

Not round here that are reliable - thought there were loads of threads on here with folk saying same ?