Dairying

Anybody here using a portable milking machine. Looking for something to plug in and bring to a pen to get a drop of beestings for a calf. Was going to use our old machine and mount it in the shed but was told it would cost more to get it up and running as a new one. I see clippers direct have one but looking 950e I think for it
How far is the pen from the parlour?

Had mdpe pipe from the parlour into our old calving pen,would have been 80’ from the parlour.
 
I’m just too tight to spend on one https://tim-gibson.com/product/portable-cow-milker-new-design/

A pulsator for an old dump bucket is circa €50 and the dump bucket similar,piece of mdpe and your away.
Ya thought about it. Just having to start up
theachine (two motors) and switch the machine to milking (as I think she will lift all the clusters then) is alot of work in the early hrs of the morning if you get me. Plus if a cow goes down we put them out to the shed we store the straw so be handy to get it out there also.
 
The problem I will have is having to start up the machine.
We used to do it while washing at the end.

 
We used to do it while washing at the end.

Ya I get you. I want a yoke no matter what time you can get a drop of milk for the calf. I hate standing beside a cow milking by hand so soon after calving in case she ended on top of me or one of the lads
 
Ya I get you. I want a yoke no matter what time you can get a drop of milk for the calf. I hate standing beside a cow milking by hand so soon after calving in case she ended on top of me or one of the lads
We've taken to storing it in 2 litre bottles like coke bottles etc in the freezer. So for anything that calves outside of milking times we feed the calf with the frozen colostrum, then we save the first milking again in bottles at the next milking.
 
We've taken to storing it in 2 litre bottles like coke bottles etc in the freezer. So for anything that calves outside of milking times we feed the calf with the frozen colostrum, then we save the first milking again in bottles at the next milking.
Does it take long to defrost? A good few lads around here refrigerate some colostrum during peak calving, always have a supply on hand ready to go.
 
I’m old fashioned but I just leave it in a bucket in the dairy with a cover over it. It’s usually stuff from that day morning or evening milking. When I need it I put it in a bottle and drop it into a bucket of hot water to heat it up.
 
Defrosting is a slow process . Could take an hr to thaw 3 litre`s probably even longer to get it all thawed . And defrosting in the microwave is a non runner
Does it take long to defrost? A good few lads around here refrigerate some colostrum during peak calving, always have a supply on hand ready to go.
If you want straight away for a calf at night only option is milk the cow .
 
Are many of ye vaccinating for rotavirus?
We had issues with it 3 years ago, vaccinated the last 2 and while the severity of the virus was slightly reduced I don’t know was it worth the €10 per cow.
Do any of ye feed the soya and oats mix pre calving to improve colostrum quality? What rate of each and for how long pre calving? This is the route we have decided to take this year, that and a lot of power washing and extra cleaning etc, time will tell if this is right or wrong but you’d buy a nice bit of soya and oats for the €10 per cow.
 
Is the colostrum milk replacer any good? I picked up a few sachets of it for emergencies.
I have a few litres of the real stiff in the freezer all the time, it's slow to defrost out if a 2L carton though
 
Ya thought about it. Just having to start up
theachine (two motors) and switch the machine to milking (as I think she will lift all the clusters then) is alot of work in the early hrs of the morning if you get me. Plus if a cow goes down we put them out to the shed we store the straw so be handy to get it out there also.
Couldn’t you put a gate valve on the vac line coming off the pump and T into it before the valve for your separate unit. The motors here can be ran without starting the parlour so would save messing with units
 
I bought bovigen works out cheaper than rotavec
Are many of ye vaccinating for rotavirus?
We had issues with it 3 years ago, vaccinated the last 2 and while the severity of the virus was slightly reduced I don’t know was it worth the €10 per cow.
Do any of ye feed the soya and oats mix pre calving to improve colostrum quality? What rate of each and for how long pre calving? This is the route we have decided to take this year, that and a lot of power washing and extra cleaning etc, time will tell if this is right or wrong but you’d buy a nice bit of soya and oats for the €10 per cow.
 
Couldn’t you put a gate valve on the vac line coming off the pump and T into it before the valve for your separate unit. The motors here can be ran without starting the parlour so would save messing with units
Ya true could do it that way but trying to get the pipe up to the calving pen is next to impossible
 
Are many of ye vaccinating for rotavirus?
We had issues with it 3 years ago, vaccinated the last 2 and while the severity of the virus was slightly reduced I don’t know was it worth the €10 per cow.
Do any of ye feed the soya and oats mix pre calving to improve colostrum quality? What rate of each and for how long pre calving? This is the route we have decided to take this year, that and a lot of power washing and extra cleaning etc, time will tell if this is right or wrong but you’d buy a nice bit of soya and oats for the €10 per cow.
I vaccinated every year, I think it makes calf rearing that bit easier. Usually use bovigen on the cows and rotavac corona on the heifers.
All rotavac this year because I couldn't get the other one.
Started this weekend,feeding a bit of soya 300 grams/cow, I have been doing this a few years sometimes oats with it . Calving to start early Feb .
Had a bit of an issue a few years back with a shortage of beistings while feeding dry baled silage.
Hard to be definitive on either, but I'd be inclined to use anything that would make life easier at the busiest time of the year.
 
Are many of ye vaccinating for rotavirus?
We had issues with it 3 years ago, vaccinated the last 2 and while the severity of the virus was slightly reduced I don’t know was it worth the €10 per cow.
Do any of ye feed the soya and oats mix pre calving to improve colostrum quality? What rate of each and for how long pre calving? This is the route we have decided to take this year, that and a lot of power washing and extra cleaning etc, time will tell if this is right or wrong but you’d buy a nice bit of soya and oats for the €10 per cow.

Ever use lifeline precalver. It is supposed to improve colostrum.
 
Is the colostrum milk replacer any good? I picked up a few sachets of it for emergencies.
I have a few litres of the real stiff in the freezer all the time, it's slow to defrost out if a 2L carton though
It's handy when you need it in an emergency but it's pretty dear for a single feed. I'd use a tub or two for the lambs every year and it does seem to work with them and I'd have a carton ready for calving in case it's needed.
Filling 2L into a 3L ziplock bag and storing it on the flat while it's being frozen gives a bigger area for the water to thaw it out and we'd use warm water and an immersion heater into the bucket with the bag generally thaws out the colostrum in about a half hour.

I noticed that the Ag college in Pallaskenry are now feeding 4l/calf within 2 hours of birth and have stopped using Halocur for crypto as the extra colostrum and extra hot powerwashing seems to be keeping it under control.
 
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