The Rural Voice, 2006-05, Page 22• Tired of Poor Reproduction?
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18 THE RURAL VOICE
-1
A nipple on the calf feeder (above,
left) provides milk at a precise
temperature. Milk powder and '
water are combined to make milk
one litre at a time in the mixer ,
(above right).
,«ond group of cattle for the second
robot. they didn't know what to
expect since they hadn't been part 01
the training of the first group.
"It wasn't too bad." EII;1
remembers.
They took turns. one staying in the
barn late. one going to the barn early
"Slowly you quit a little earlier and
you start a little later and after a
while. that's it." says Frank.
Their initial thought was that the
older cows would be harder to train
but they caught on right away. laughs
Ella while the younger heifers. that
they thought would adapt quickly.
could be stubborn and slow to learn.
"But once they get going. they
know it, they like it. they go back."
she says.
"The cows are a lot healthier,"
Ella adds. "They're producing way
more. Their udders are never overtull
because they get milked three or four
times a day or as often as they want.
So we haven't seen mastitis in our
herd in two years."
"We don't have the medication
anymore," adds Frank. ,
The milkers will add to the
lifespan of cattle in their herd.
Ella feels. "There's not as
much stress on them. Udderwise,
there's never the pressure. Now the
udders never get that big (because
they can be milked several times a
day)" so cows don't blow their
udders.
"Milk production is still rising,"
she says. They've been constantly
buying quota to keep up with the
increase in production from the cows
they have.
Frank thinks the robots are
particularly good for first -calf
heifers. "If they can go on the
machine they produce a lot more, 1
think. We'd never seen the