AfiFeed in Parallel and Herringbone Parlors

The AfiFeed™ system implements a pre-set Feed Program that covers all stages of each cow's life cycle. This individual feeding strategy ensures that each animal receives her own feed menu each day, to optimize feed consumption.

AfiFeed is available in both in-parlor stalls and out-of-parlor stalls (feed stations). This section describes the operation of AfiFeed inside Herringbone and Parallel milking parlors.

Operation

Unlike in other setups, in-parlor feeding in parallel or herringbone parlors requires a feeder in each milking stall. To encourage cows to quickly enter the stalls and promote a sense of comfort, the cows should not be kept waiting till the parlor is loaded before they can begin eating. Likewise, since the parlor is not always loaded to capacity, feed should be supplied only in those stalls where an actual cow is present.

Activating Initial Feed Drop

The new operation sequence described here is an improvement to the existing sequence, aimed at preventing spillage of feed to empty milking stalls. As the cows file into the parlor, each milking stall is filled successively. The minimum (initial) feed is dropped into each feeder when one of the following occurs at that milking stall:

  • Cow is identified,

  • The milk meter start button is pressed and cluster is attached.

Note: In parallel or herringbone parlors, not all milking stalls are always occupied. If a stall is not occupied, neither the cow ID nor the milk meter start button is activated. As such, the initial feed drop is also not activated.

Activating Complete Feed Drop

The complete feed drops (where the cows receive the remainder of their feed allocations) for each stall is activated when a full load is registered in the parlor, as follows:

#

Action

1

Exit gate closed and entry gate opens. ID process starts. ID system identifies the animal OR start button is pressed and milk cluster is attached.

2

Initial, "minimum parlor meal" (as set in parameters) is dropped.

3

Entrance gate is closed or the row is fully identified.

4

Clusters are attached and the milk meter start buttons in the stalls are pressed.

5

Feed allocation is dispensed. Minimum feed is dispensed if no allocation is set.