A functional parlour exit race is an essential feature in any dairy farmyard to handle animals safely. When it comes to handling facilities it is better to rely on animal behavioural principles instead of sheer force to restrain and control animals during handling or exiting. Fine-tuning the design of animal handling facilities will enhance animal welfare and reduce stress and injuries. This applies to both animals and users. When designing a parlour exit race and handling facilities there are several factors to consider. Safety, cow flow, management and handling of livestock, location, future developments, your yard layout and how it will fit into your day to day activities. Most of all using handling facilities should not be a chore, a well-designed handling facility should fit in with your daily routine seamlessly.
Here we have Vincent talking through a high spec parlour exit and collection yard we fitted a couple of years ago.
*A must watch video for anyone designing a parlour race*
Standard Parlour Exit Race
In the below video we look at a standard parlour exit race, consisting of a 2-way drafter, holing pen and crush setup. This yard was designed to fit into the space of the old milking parlour the flow channel was added some the area was easy to wash down and maintain. In the video, we show the cows that are ready for AI going through the crush and loaded with our 360-degree forcing gate. The cow is locked into the crush gate and the AI technician can safely enter the race behind the cow with our pedestrian gate. made the job a safe and easy process.
Head Locking AI Gate
Our head locking AI gate is very handy for quick handing and can be added to the holding area of a parlour exit. The self-locking swing over stall can be set to lock animals individually at the rail. It has an adjustable neck width so it is suitable for all animals sizes. This can make testing, vaccinating, clipping, AI, etc. an easy task for the farmer. In this video, pat walks us through his new parlour exit. He also takes us through his routine for AI with our heading locking AI gate. Pat AI’s all his own cows.
Anti Backing Gate
In the case of parlour exits our anti backing gate is ideal for stopping cows coming back up the exit after milk. It is designed to fit the ODEL Crush panels to stop animals from backing down the race. This simple gate is spring-loaded and it has a unique feature of a wheel for added safety so it just runs off cattle.
Cows Moving Through Salesian Agri Colleges new 50 unit rotary parlour & Parlour Exit
Here is the Collecting yard and parlour exit for Salesian Agri Colleges new 50 unit rotary parlour. In the video, it shows the cows going through the whole system, collection, through the parlour and out the exit race drafted. they have a 3-way drafter with handling facilities on the left, including a foot bathing system, crush and AI race all serviced with our 360-degree gate. check it out
Our Unique 360-Degree Forcing Gate
Our unique 360-degree gate is ideal for loading or handling cattle. It is designed to suit individual customer requirements in order to meet multiple locking locations, This heavy-duty gate is capable of rotating 360 degrees around a hinging pole. Ideal for entry to drafting systems, a crush, penning and footbaths. It also acts as a forcing gate when loading cattle, allowing the farmer to stay out of harm’s way. It all rotates around heavy-duty greaseable hangers to suit 139 OD poles.
Quality & Innovation Give Us The Edge
At O’Donovan Engineering, our motto is “quality and innovation give us the edge” – and this is the standard we hold ourselves to. We are proud of the fact we manufacture our products in Ireland and that we employ staff from our local community. Manufacturing and support teams working to ISO-9001-2015 standard. We have over 40 years of experience in the market and we are confident we have the solutions to make your farm work for you. Our experienced sales and engineering teams will work directly with you; designing and fitting the optimum layout in your new or existing crush setups and animal handling yard. It is important to keep in mind the options available to you. We look at each yard individually and design a solution for you! Contact us today at 00353 (0)217334066 or CLICK HERE FOR MORE CRUSHES & HANDLING OPTIONS
