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automatic scrapers/ backing gates

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  • 07-08-2009 11:52am
    #1
    nama
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭


    i am considering installing automatic scrapers into my two existing slatted tanks. each tank is a standard four span tank, 10ft 6 gang slats, with cubicles and feed area. the two tanks are side by side and are winter housing for 60 cows and in the summer the act as two collecting yards for milking.
    two problems i currently have with the buildings is the slats become very dirty in the winter and require scrapping daily, not a nice job!!!! the concrete area of the slats being two wide.
    also during milking cows linger at the back of the sheds.

    my solution to both problems is a scrapper backing gate????

    however i have no experience with automatic scrapers. chains? ropes? track? electric pulleys? oil drivin? a scraper that scraps in both directions or just oneway? backing gate attachments? and of course cost!!
    what is the most cost effective system given that there is no grant but a system that works 365days a year?

    hope you can shed some light
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    #2
    irish_bob
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,271 ✭✭✭irish_bob


    nama wrote: »
    i am considering installing automatic scrapers into my two existing slatted tanks. each tank is a standard four span tank, 10ft 6 gang slats, with cubicles and feed area. the two tanks are side by side and are winter housing for 60 cows and in the summer the act as two collecting yards for milking.
    two problems i currently have with the buildings is the slats become very dirty in the winter and require scrapping daily, not a nice job!!!! the concrete area of the slats being two wide.
    also during milking cows linger at the back of the sheds.

    my solution to both problems is a scrapper backing gate????

    however i have no experience with automatic scrapers. chains? ropes? track? electric pulleys? oil drivin? a scraper that scraps in both directions or just oneway? backing gate attachments? and of course cost!!
    what is the most cost effective system given that there is no grant but a system that works 365days a year?

    hope you can shed some light


    most seem to like scrapers , i hate them and my brother likes them less than i do , finickey buggers a yokes and i honestly see no advatage over them to a slatted passage


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    #3
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    irish_bob wrote: »
    most seem to like scrapers , i hate them and my brother likes them less than i do , finickey buggers a yokes and i honestly see no advatage over them to a slatted passage

    The main advantage to solid concrete passageways over slats is comfort. Slats tend to cause some lameness problems - especially for dairy cows.
    A lot of people use mats on the slats, but dairy farmers are slow to change to this because of the fear of lameness. Also the OP had his/her facilities in place and may not be in a financial position to change them at this time.

    Another advantage is cleanliness. If there is a continuous movement of a scraper through a passageway, then a cow is less likely to lie down in it and choose a clean cubicle instead. This means less washing of udders before milking and less risk of "dirt spread" diseases like Mastitis, Salmonella etc.

    A cow will lie on a slat mat before she will climb into a cubicle.


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    #4
    irish_bob
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,271 ✭✭✭irish_bob


    reilig wrote: »
    The main advantage to solid concrete passageways over slats is comfort. Slats tend to cause some lameness problems - especially for dairy cows.
    A lot of people use mats on the slats, but dairy farmers are slow to change to this because of the fear of lameness. Also the OP had his/her facilities in place and may not be in a financial position to change them at this time.

    Another advantage is cleanliness. If there is a continuous movement of a scraper through a passageway, then a cow is less likely to lie down in it and choose a clean cubicle instead. This means less washing of udders before milking and less risk of "dirt spread" diseases like Mastitis, Salmonella etc.

    A cow will lie on a slat mat before she will climb into a cubicle.

    a concrete passage way with scraper is only cleaner than a slatted passage way two minutes after its scraped , two minutes before its scraped , its much dirtier than a passage way with slats , scrapers over a 30 year period are more expensive when you take into account the cost of running them and the inevitable repairs


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    #5
    nama
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭nama


    thanks for your input,
    during the housing period if my slatted tank does not get daily sraping, the slats, cubicles and thus the cows get very dirty. this is due to the slats being poorly designed gang slats with large concrete slat and a narrow gap. (i do not have this problem with another tank that is single slatted),

    to overcome this problem i 'think' that a scrapping system would work well? as changing the slats would be very costly.

    also the fact that the scrapper could double up as a backing gate during milking would further insentivise there installation?

    if anyone has any prior knowledge of a scrapper backing gate system or the merits and draw backs of the different types of scrapers . i.e chains and pulleys, tracks, oil drivin, one way or both way scrapping etc.


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