Dear reader,
To make searching easier you can read the Tips per category on these pages.
So for information about, for example, udder health or concentrate supply, you can find which Tips have been written about this per category since 2010.
There are Tips that are old and Tips that fit into multiple categories.
The latest published Tips can still be found below and on the right side.
On the phone you will find the categories on this page under the last 5 Tips.
Long, enjoyable VMS visit.
Ensure the cow enjoys the “entire milking session” in the VMS.
Take the feed rate into account; ensure she hasn’t finished her portion before milking starts, so what is the feed rate per minute set to?
Depending on amount concentrates, max 0.30 – 0.40 kg per minute.
And is she still entitled to a reasonable portion at the last milking session?
That means the maximum portion per milking session should not be set too high.
Depending on the ration at the feed barrier: 2.00 – 3.00 kg maximum.
Does she really hate the teatcleaning? If she is clean enough, the pre-treatment can be set lighter. For example, with new heifers.
(Standard setting remains best for clean teats and oxytocin!)
Is the walk-in gate not too tight, and is the feed trough in the VMS in the correct position? Is the cow standing relaxed?
Does she have to make strange turn before or after robot? => Rubber mat / grates.
Are certain pipes or fences very smooth and clean in places, while others are dirty? Why?
Is this due to the cows’ walking route or perhaps grounding?
Sharing experiences.
Occasionally, we receive questions such as:
Do you also have questions like these?
There is so much experience by now, and there are so many colleagues who don’t have these problems or have a solution for it!
Take your questions to colleagues, your advisor, or study meetings.
Of course, much of the information is already available somewhere on this website; your question can often be found using the search function.
And: Be open to solutions 😉
Cow Traffic Score.
Do you think (some of) your cows could use the robot / feed fence more often?
During my farm visits, I often use the 10-point score:
Your cow gets 10 points.
If she’s not walking very well, we deduct 2-5 points, depending on the severity.
If there’s little space around the robot to get in or the robot is too crowded, we deduct another points.
If the basic ration doesn’t taste good, or she’s on the verge of rumen acidosis, we deduct another 2-5 points.
If the robot isn’t milking optimally, or if parts are worn, etc., we deduct another point.
There are other factors, such as illness, bedding comfort, and routing, that can result in (penalty) points.
The fewer deduction points the better!
How many points do your (collected) cows have left?
This method can provide insight into assessing your cows’ robot visits.
Shut down and restart the robots and computer regularly.
We know it’s good to completely shut down and restart the robot(s) and computer occasionally. We know that’s good, but when do we do it?
A technician advised using that moment to shut down everything when replacing the teat liners. This way, it happens regularly and takes almost no time!
Make sure you give the system time to drain all (leakage) power.