slat mats

avent

avent

Well-Known Member
Going to get slat mats for the shed for sucklers
Anyone any experience of the good the bad or the ugly?
 
Often hear mayo mats mentioned round here and have a friend selling them but iv no experience with them.


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lough said:
Is Mayo mats the ones you lay down on top of the slats and cut the slot out of them in place?
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yes every hole has to be cut out by the fitter ,have them down here under bulls for the last 8 years and they are as good as the day they went down they wont wear like most other mats because they are not actaully rubber some people say the bulls will lift them but as long as they are trimmed when they expand there is no problem in my opinion the only ones better than the mayo mat are the comfort slat mats (the green ones that go between each slat)
 
Evan said:
yes every hole has to be cut out by the fitter ,have them down here under bulls for the last 8 years and they are as good as the day they went down they wont wear like most other mats because they are not actaully rubber some people say the bulls will lift them but as long as they are trimmed when they expand there is no problem in my opinion the only ones better than the mayo mat are the comfort slat mats (the green ones that go between each slat)
Click to expand...

It must have been the Mayo mats that I went to look at then in a shed near me, the guy that had them in said they didn't stay in place and slid on top of the slat, I went for the easifix ones then because there is a cleat on them that squeezes down into the gap in the slat to hold them in place, I have them in since about 09 or 10 and they are wearing at the front of the pen along the feed barrier where the cows stand
 
Evan said:
yes every hole has to be cut out by the fitter ,have them down here under bulls for the last 8 years and they are as good as the day they went down they wont wear like most other mats because they are not actaully rubber some people say the bulls will lift them but as long as they are trimmed when they expand there is no problem in my opinion the only ones better than the mayo mat are the comfort slat mats (the green ones that go between each slat)
Click to expand...

When you say trimmed when they expand . Do you mean you have to recut the slot`s .
Have easyfix mat`s in a good few shed`s at work and there still perfect . Nice mat`s probably a bit hard compared to the comfort mat`s which would be the best for comfort i`d say . One mat to stay well clear of are the durapak mat`s there in a suckler shed i spread slurry out of any between wear and breaking up there a disaster and only in 5yr`s
 
lough said:
It must have been the Mayo mats that I went to look at then in a shed near me, the guy that had them in said they didn't stay in place and slid on top of the slat, I went for the easifix ones then because there is a cleat on them that squeezes down into the gap in the slat to hold them in place, I have them in since about 09 or 10 and they are wearing at the front of the pen along the feed barrier where the cows stand
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Do you not have a concrete apron at the front of the slat for the cow to put or front leg`s on .
 
lough said:
There is no concrete apron, the slat is the full width of the pen, comes up to about 4" of the feed barrier
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Ah that`s your issue i`d say . Have a concrete strip in the shed`s here . In one of the older shed`s easyfix supplied a mat to go on the concrete strip so it would match the height of the slat mat`s . That put up a very bad fight against the bullock`s in the shed and has all been taken out now but it`s made no difference to the slat mat`s they`ve stayed in place /
 
Easyfix mats here. They replaced mayo mats. We had 2 pens done with the mayo mats. They seemed to stretch every year and cattle were very dirty on them. Easyfix are easy to install. Put the first ones in around 2003. Grips are well worn on them now but they are still clean and comfortable for cows. Did a full 4 bay shed with them in 2005 and there is no wear on the grips.

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Comfort slat mats here. Excellent. Most expensive mat when we were fitting them, but think they are worth the premium. I have suckler cows on them, and used always have a lame one during the winter before we fitted them, but have had no problems since fitting.

Friend has them side by side with easy fix and cattle are definitely cleaner on the comfort mat. Because of the way the comfort mat is fitted you actually narrow the gaps between the slats, but you have the full length of the gap left clear. Have heard other farmers comment that they are a cleaner mat aswell. He has less lameness finishing cull cows on them as well.
 
massey 6480 said:
When you say trimmed when they expand . Do you mean you have to recut the slot`s .

Have easyfix mat`s in a good few shed`s at work and there still perfect . Nice mat`s probably a bit hard compared to the comfort mat`s which would be the best for comfort i`d say . One mat to stay well clear of are the durapak mat`s there in a suckler shed i spread slurry out of any between wear and breaking up there a disaster and only in 5yr`s
Click to expand...


The Mayo mats have to be trimmed along the edge of some of the mats to stop them from lifting when they expand



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have easifix, durapak and comfort mats in different sheds here
just my own opinion but easi fix the best by a mile
only have a small amount of durapak , they are ok but see some of them have cracked in spots and I know a man that had serious problems with same brand
comfort mats, dearest of them all and in my opnion have been disappointing..i have a few big cows with bad feet, a few days on the comfort mats and they are done up, they seem to manage alot bettter on the easi fix, thats my experience anyway
 
Evan said:
The Mayo mats have to be trimmed along the edge of some of the mats to stop them from lifting when they expand



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Click to expand...


Ah shur that's a bullocks of a job . Having to get down on your hands and knees with a jigsaw or hand saw to trim mats. Or do Mayo come back out and do it for you . Which I doubt without charging you .


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massey 6480 said:
Ah shur that's a bullocks of a job . Having to get down on your hands and knees with a jigsaw or hand saw to trim mats. Or do Mayo come back out and do it for you . Which I doubt without charging you .


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Click to expand...

they come back and do it but its fairly simple trim them with stanly knife you just have to use your head and make sure that you are taking it off the right side of the mat so that the holes in the mat will still line up with the slats if you know what i mean
 
From memory the durapak outperformed the easy fix in animal performance trials, probably because they're a softer material. However, the softer material doesn't seem to last
 
comfort mats here too
looked at others before deciding but happy that we made the right choice
yes slighty more expensive but you get what you pay for
animals cleaner seem happier lie down more readily and no cuts on legs - tho this was only a problem with animals just about finished and no cases of lameness since fitting used to get one a yr at least
 
Comfort mats here too,no experience of any other type apart from seeing them in other locations and my cattle seem a lot cleaner on the comfort mat, of course other factors contribute a lot to cleanliness such as diet and shed ventilation and animal health, never had a lameness problem since putting in the mats.
 
mixedbag said:
Comfort slat mats here. Excellent. Most expensive mat when we were fitting them, but think they are worth the premium. I have suckler cows on them, and used always have a lame one during the winter before we fitted them, but have had no problems since fitting.

Friend has them side by side with easy fix and cattle are definitely cleaner on the comfort mat. Because of the way the comfort mat is fitted you actually narrow the gaps between the slats, but you have the full length of the gap left clear. Have heard other farmers comment that they are a cleaner mat aswell. He has less lameness finishing cull cows on them as well.
Click to expand...

Have the Comfort slat mats here as well, well worth the money. They are the nearest thing to having cows on grass comfort wise. They are air-pocketed and rounded so stay clean and after 7 years installed, mine are still as good as new. No issues. I have calved cows on them, the bull has mounted cows on them. Because the animals sink there holves into them they have perfect grip and when they lie down it is like they are on a comfort mattress. Recommend 100%.
 
Have comfort slat mats here 4 ➕ years excellent job no trouble with feet on finishing cattle went you always had before on bare slat and also cleaner. Also put cows and calves on the at 3 days old and no trouble. And seem to be wearing OK.
 
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