Thunder Bay, Ontario, Great White North | The problem with 'feed first' or 'milk first' is both approaches fail to do the most important thing - put the 'cows first'!
A properly designed free traffic system is the least stressful for the cows. If things are operating properly it is also not very stressful on the farmer. One of my feed reps tried hard to convince me I was doing the wrong thing building a free traffic barn - a couple months after we moved in when we were up to 3.7 average milkings per cow, with no fetching of late cows he admitted he was wrong.
The biggest thing you need to remember in a robot barn (and most times when doing anything with cattle) is you need to convince the cows that it is their idea to enter the milking stall. Cow psychology is what I like to call it. Makes for less stress on everyone involved.
Oh and the picture of you barn design looks good, except the robot is the wrong color :) |
For those who milk robotically, if I could impose on you
