What dairy foot trimming crush

Now where’s the post where you scorned me for buying a pallet of copper sulphate?:LOL:

I agree prevention rather than cure,my cows need trimming due to diet and being housed,left they will become lame.
I know I’m dull and repetitive!
Showing my ignorance here but how often do you/should scrap our cubicles etc in a housed herd.
 

dinderleat

Member
Location
Wells
I know I’m dull and repetitive!
Showing my ignorance here but how often do you/should scrap our cubicles etc in a housed herd.

As often as you can/want what ever works for you. we scrape twice a day cows and young stock every other. I Would like auto scrapers for the cows but would cost a lot to do.
 
You can’t have tried one recently.

I don’t know what or how my crush could be improved.

I tried a good few before I bought mine. Kvk was the only one that got close, but was £6000 more for same spec machine.

Honestly if anyone wants to try before they buy (and I recommend you do) then just ask.

I’ve not had any need to request service yet, but the are only 25 minutes away so can’t see a problem.

I own one thanks. Front gate doesn’t latch properly. The back bar tubes split open like butter, we had to make side gates to stop cows putting there heads through and when the front doors open they often trap cows feet. I wouldn’t say that’s a good design. He had the opportunity to come and put it right they came once and were never seen again.
 

clem dog

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Co Antrim
Fitted electric hoists on my wopa crush,wouldn’t ever go back to hand winding.

Main faults with my crush are the front gate.

Cows put their front feet through the gaps either side of the head rails and you then can’t lift the front leg till you’ve fought with the cow to get it back.:banghead:

Front gate on it doesn’t shut enough and they get their heads out.:banghead:

Front gate opens one side on a diagonal,smaller cows and heifers end up running at it and will get front half of body stuck and you then need to let them round again.:banghead:

It’s not high enough to get weight off the front feet as the cow is up against the winding rail for the belly strap.:banghead:
Newer crushes are higher,mines fine for normal cows.

Good points.

Chain on rear stops cows kicking back and you winch against it so the foot doesn’t move.

Front feet aren’t bad to do.

It was cheap!


It’s for sale once my new crush comes,1st £750 will buy it.
Could you post a few pics of how you put the electric winders on the crush please?
I have a manual wopa box and have toyed with the idea of putting electrics on it but haven't really given much thought as to how I would go about it. Thank you.
 
I own one thanks. Front gate doesn’t latch properly. The back bar tubes split open like butter, we had to make side gates to stop cows putting there heads through and when the front doors open they often trap cows feet. I wouldn’t say that’s a good design. He had the opportunity to come and put it right they came once and were never seen again.

This is why i think it's important to try first. if your trying to drive cows into what they perceive as a trap/dead end then they probably will try and find a hole or escape route. This was exactly the reason i went for the option of remote. With front gate open you can be behind the cow with one thumb ready to close the front gate as shes walking in and the other to bring rear gate down behind the cow. It really could not be improved.
I'm not sure if my front gate is different to yours but i've never had a foot caught. I usually just open the rear gate up a bit so they can lean back a foot before i open the front gate. Mine is solid to the floor and it just pushes the foot back if its in the way.

I know that there were tweaks and improvements over the couple of years i was looking at crushes. Like everything these things evolve from feedback, but i don't know where they'll go next, or that they need to.
 
Location
West Wales
If your going to lift 100 cows a year, and get a trimmer in to blitz the whole herd, something like beefys etc is wholly adequate
If you have hundreds to do a year sometimes twice and the time and skill to do them then go all out on a super duper jobby
Most people have issues with doing front feet, don't fall into the trap of over speccing just to make doing fronts easier when in reality probably only 10 percent will get them lifted anyway
I spent 200 quid at a farm sale on a manual jobby, perfect for back feet, but will admit that if I was doing a lot I would prefer a bit of automation

Agreed here. I have a manual crush that’s done well but now just needs an upgrade.

It's a 1000 times better to use than my old IAE manual winder. My only issue is that a small jersey can pull her head back out of the yoke because it doesn't shut tight enough. It's not a problem if you remember to put the chain up.

Can you get a grant in Wales at the moment @Headless chicken

We can get a degree of a grant. It has to meet some fairly specific criteria as we can’t get a grant directly for a trimming crush.

when we were putting in the parlour we had a shed that meant we could have a race for ai and Tb testing on the exit from the parlour. on the end of which we put a crush. On the inside of the race we put a foot bath. This along with our track system means the need to lift feet is greatly reduced. Would rather have a crap crush and rarely have to use it having spent the money on prevention than have a super doper crush and be using it constantly.
Sorry

I fully agree with you here. We’re making constant improvements all the way. The crush is the next step. We have had a fair restructure lately with staff and this will continue into the new year. We have some extremely skilled people on tap which I wish to utilise. I would also like to be doing dry off lifts ( not trimming unless required) and then pre breeding. £10 a cow adds up and then the cost of the blocks etc from the trimmer. Also my trimmer is a job to get hold of. Easy if I was ayr and wanted him once a month but one off trims is a nightmare
 
We bought a manual comfort chute around 10 years ago now. Was great for lifting the odd cow between trimmer visits. Over the years as weve brought trimming fully in house the need for some creature comforts was realized. Between electric winch upgrades from comfort and a little ingenuity on our part weve built a fairly automated chute that I see no need to replace anytime soon. For the lift we just used a small car lift that fit perfectly under the floor. We have a good usable chute that we have no problem doing all maintenance, lame, and dry off trims through on a herd of 300 plus replacements if need be for less than 18k Canadian $. I would say if money is tight go for a good manual chute that has the possibility to be added on to easily down the road as money or needs fit.
IMG_0027.JPG
 
Location
cumbria
We bought a manual comfort chute around 10 years ago now. Was great for lifting the odd cow between trimmer visits. Over the years as weve brought trimming fully in house the need for some creature comforts was realized. Between electric winch upgrades from comfort and a little ingenuity on our part weve built a fairly automated chute that I see no need to replace anytime soon. For the lift we just used a small car lift that fit perfectly under the floor. We have a good usable chute that we have no problem doing all maintenance, lame, and dry off trims through on a herd of 300 plus replacements if need be for less than 18k Canadian $. I would say if money is tight go for a good manual chute that has the possibility to be added on to easily down the road as money or needs fit.View attachment 805838

I'm guessing that it's bolted to the lift.
How is it for stability?
 

Blue.

Member
Livestock Farmer
We bought a manual comfort chute around 10 years ago now. Was great for lifting the odd cow between trimmer visits. Over the years as weve brought trimming fully in house the need for some creature comforts was realized. Between electric winch upgrades from comfort and a little ingenuity on our part weve built a fairly automated chute that I see no need to replace anytime soon. For the lift we just used a small car lift that fit perfectly under the floor. We have a good usable chute that we have no problem doing all maintenance, lame, and dry off trims through on a herd of 300 plus replacements if need be for less than 18k Canadian $. I would say if money is tight go for a good manual chute that has the possibility to be added on to easily down the road as money or needs fit.View attachment 805838

What height is the floor of the chute when fully down?

As suggested a few years back on the forum I’m looking for a single post car ramp for mine,one of the reasons is to get it up out of the way when not in use.
 

Lewis

Member
Livestock Farmer
Want to improve the ergonomics of my crush, its a Bateman crush , been watching the hoof gp on youtube, and would like to attach one of them W bars at the back to hold the foot still , anybody retrofitted one? most of the time foot trimming is spent fighting to pick the front feet up ( manual winders) and waiting for the cow to stop fidgeting with her back feet,

Pic shows how I currently do it with the back feet by attaching the front strap to pull the foot forward, use a grinder so foot needs to be firm.
View attachment 834549
he also uses a type of hook bar instead of a strap to pick the feet up , prevent the pinching effect of the strap on the cow, but unsure if it would work without the Wbar to pull the foot up to .
 
Last edited:

Blue.

Member
Livestock Farmer
Want to improve the ergonomics of my crush, its a Bateman crush , been watching the hoof gp on youtube, and would like to attach one of them W bars at the back to hold the foot still , anybody retrofitted one? most of the time foot trimming is spent fighting to pick the front feet up ( manual winders) and waiting for the cow to stop fidgeting with her back feet,

Pic shows how I currently do it with the back feet by attaching the front strap to pull the foot forward, use a grinder so foot needs to be firm.
View attachment 834549
he also uses a type of hook bar instead of a strap to pick the feet up , prevent the pinching effect of the strap on the cow, but unsure if it would work without the Wbar to pull the foot up to .

Your pic isn’t showing.

I used a chain for years,winch the leg up against the chain to keep it still and stop it kicking back.

I’ve never understood why anyone would use the strap like a noose,I’ve always used the strap hooked back on itself to stop pinching.

The hoof gp on YouTube is good to watch but I wouldn’t have him on my farm,holding cows feet while trimming with a grinder and no guard on the grinder,I’ve enough on without taking him off to casualty.

I sacked a lad a few years ago because he was dangerous with the grinder,he was showing me where he caught himself with the disc but hadn’t learnt!!
 

Dead Rabbits

Member
Location
'Merica
Your pic isn’t showing.

I used a chain for years,winch the leg up against the chain to keep it still and stop it kicking back.

I’ve never understood why anyone would use the strap like a noose,I’ve always used the strap hooked back on itself to stop pinching.

The hoof gp on YouTube is good to watch but I wouldn’t have him on my farm,holding cows feet while trimming with a grinder and no guard on the grinder,I’ve enough on without taking him off to casualty.

I sacked a lad a few years ago because he was dangerous with the grinder,he was showing me where he caught himself with the disc but hadn’t learnt!!

used a grinder with a guard two years ago for the first time. Never seen one with a guard up till then. Not very popular here I guess.
 

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