I'm Thinking Of Rubber Matting The Whole Cowshed, What's The Cost??

[@gerryoconnor8751]

Personally I would extend the parlour first, I think it's more necessary. What about using a sacrifice paddock for the wet nights?

[@paulfinnan1984]

Good idea

[@paulveenings6861]

Not a good idea. Cows loose most of their heat through their feet so standing in mud doesn’t do them much good.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Yep I agree, extension first. Not real keen on one in winter, not so bad in summer though

[@JDseller1]

We put rubber matting in our tie stall barn 25 years ago and it helped with foot problems BUT our cell counts increased a lot. When we quit milking we sold the mats and it was really nasty under them. I would look into some type of an epoxy coating and see what is available. It would not be as thick but it would be sealed.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

interesting thanks for the comment!

[@BC-vg3zf]

West Aussie here, can’t say not do it at all. We’ve had ours going on nearly ten years and yes you get some build up underneath but the relief you see in your cows as the step on it. They will place sore feet to the matting and look relaxed

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

sounds like its really easy on them which is so cool to hear

[@BC-vg3zf]

@@TheOnceADayFarmer we have a circular yard and the poles for the yard are on the inside so there’s space and you don’t have to go flush to everything. In the pit area where the cows stand if you get the edging with it leave a inch gap too allow for drainage if you have a protective splash guard . Best of luck

[@sumansapkota2743]

I am so impressed the way u do and teach us how to do properly

[@christianallen432]

We put it up the pit and the exit, game changing best thing we ever did in our shed keeps it quiet and we used that brand too love the stuff

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Awesome!

[@willyfindlay4398]

Love the tractor pull start. Done that lots of times. A cousin of my Dad's had a tractor shed in the 1970s biult above a good slope that you could bump start the tractors on. Bit hairy in frosty mornings.😊

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

That's a bloody good idea aye haha

[@ryansonghurst4883]

Hey Andrew, if you're going to rubber mat I'd highly reccomend doing the bale area also. We had two identical 44ashb on the farm we managed last, owner bought the neighbors place which didnt have it but our original shed did. Our original shed was rubber mat the entire yard and bale area and the shed was so much nicer to milk in, quieter, cows flowed way faster in and out, heifers were way easier to train in the rubber mat shed and cows were generally more content, if we had a down cow they always got up good as gold with no sliding round and risking damage like on concrete. The only issue we had with it was during spring with large herds the cows would lay down on it during milking, keeping herd sizes to under 1hr each on the yard it was good as gold though.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Thanks for that, that's really interesting! sounds like that mats mad a massive difference and if they're willing to lye down then they must be really comfortable. Thanks heaps for the comment!

[@samkalma8268]

Check how theyre gonna wrap the rubber round the steel posts. It holds the shit in at the base of the posts and rusts them off quick as. Don Chapman is used a heat shrink tube over the bottom of any posts that weren't in a nib.

[@samkalma8268]

Something else to think about is the weather on the day you lay it. If it's too hot or cold you get shrinking/expanding all the time which makes gaps in the rubber and pops them up in places too. Don't wanna scare you off from the rubber, it did help with lameness etc here but worth knowing the headaches before you jump in

[@paulveenings6861]

Great idea 🙏

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Awesome comment thanks!! Never even thought of that but it definitely makes sense! there's actually quite a few things to think about aye

[@alanhenning2935]

$36,000 will buy alot of supplementary feed, grass seed, batt latches and labor plus putting the manure where it's needed! Some management tips: setup a paddock with supplementary feed then let the cows walk to the back of the paddock to the last break. Set up the next breaks so you are ready to move them at any time depending on the weather. The grass has so much water in it so they don't need a water trough. Use batt latches if you feel they need a move during the night. The goal is to keep the stress level low on the cows! Graze on, Alan in Madison, Wisconsin. Years ago I sharemilked 3 yrs. at Te Poi in eastern Waikato.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Yes it would but the rubber matting would really be future proofing and you could argue it saves you money as well in terms of pasture saved and undamaged. Te Poi is a really nice place! If I'm not mistaken but I think WI is one of the powerhouse states of dairy farming?

[@caveweta]

So is there any grinding of the surface needed, floor levelling compound etc. watched 10Gen Dairyman putting matting down in their dairy shed, all tek screws through the mat and drilled into the concrete. Looks straightforward but I reckon the floor surface will be the key to DIY.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

No I don't think so, you just lay it on top and screw, he said it would probably take about 2.5 days to install all up

[@errolkahukuranui5498]

Deffinetly worth putting mats in the pit boss man done our shed and I reckon it was worth it

[@RichardNettleton]

Hi Andrew, they are a very good mat, I installed them in 130 stables at Lindsay Park Racing the first ten years ago.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Wow that's awesome, impressive stable! would be great for horses I Imagine

[@RichardNettleton]

@@TheOnceADayFarmer Did you watch it on KZbin. It’s two hours north of Melbourne at Creightons Creek .

[@MarkDonnelly-j9v]

Hi I like your video

[@anthonyanderson2880]

Will that rubber matting be easy to hose down without getting poop stuck between the knobbly bits? That trap is awesome. Does it reset itself or do you have the check them each morning and reset them if it has clocked a rat or something?

[@justinwenzel8459]

if the mats are joined good they are no worries

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

I think it would be pretty easy to clean still. Yep it does, it has a cog on it so when it goes off it winds itself up again

[@digthisnz1943]

Plantings are great…. But how do you clean the drains out. We are seeing a lot of issues because of it. With the water eventually rising because it gets full it will get above the level of your drain tiles and stop that water getting away. Not saying plantings are not good just a few things to think about.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

The idea is to stop silt etc so hopefully going forward won't have to clean them. But I am also hope that if I've only got the 2 rows the digger would still be able to get in there maybe

[@S1MPLTON]

Mate had matting on whole yard was not a fan the smell of trapped dung under mats in summer was pretty full on made for more flys. Also look into the rules around rain water discharge from yard not in use due to matting as in you have to collect all water regardless

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

That's really interesting around the rain water! I definitely need to check that out as we love to divert when we can. thanks for the comment!

[@OOpSjm]

Find a mat maker to sponsor then do it.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

haha love to

[@ronaldlucas5360]

Nice wood .

[@brendonking8982]

Do the pit it makes a huge difference on ya back and feet

[@brendonking8982]

We have it at the front of the shed helps heaps with cows not getting pushed over. But we have it inside the pit for our feet and back. Not once since installed have I had sore feet during any milking.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

That's awesome to hear! I reckon it would make a massive difference and it sounds like it too

[@FamilyFarmingandFun]

I would be doing your feed pad not the cowshed.

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

$35k compared to $90-100k is a big difference and I don’t have enough effluent storage for winter use on the pad

[@KiwiJim13]

👀🙄🐾👍Any takers with the trap?

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

not yet that ive seen

[@MarkDonnelly-j9v]

Hi whole cowshed

[@brycekirby1567]

Great environmental protection

[@daireharlin181]

Did you price easifix. I did my collecting yard 75ft x 16ft 7.5k euro

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

No haven't heard of them to be honest, ill have a search

[@boake]

what about cleaning won't there become water under the rubber

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Yeah sounds like it can get trapped under so im not real sure what would happen

[@1nzloyal]

putting rubber in the pit will mean lip on the concrete for the pit will be at same height as rubber then cows will fall in more often

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

should be alright, the bar will still prevent them from coming over

[@vpurduxyt9460]

I would personally extend your shed b4 forking that kind of money

[@ezraseibel8407]

Just check into other farmers with the mats

[@jessegregoryCREEKSQUAD]

Hey mate when are U going to get some Texas longhorns? 😂

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

haha I would love some!

[@kaisottofans6248]

nice 1 brother

[@andrewclohessy8228]

👍

[@kirkforster5254]

Only thing about rubber mats is they get really hot in summer

[@justinwenzel8459]

we are in seq Queensland it gets bloody hot here and ours doesn't

[@kirkforster5254]

@justinwenzel8459 I'm in Victoria and they do here when we turn sprinklers on the steam rises

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Wouldn't worry me too much as I don't have to afternoon milk

[@kirkforster5254]

@@TheOnceADayFarmer 🤣🤣🤣

[@MarkDonnelly-j9v]

Hi needed big cowshed

[@digthisnz1943]

How silly would it be to put woodchip in the yard between seasons? Clean it out before milking

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

I wouldn't say its a silly idea but wood chips quite expensive now and would be really hard to keep it out of the irrigation system, would be constant block ups so not real keen on the idea

[@PhilipPaul-c9f]

35 k would be better spent on the cowshed. Rubber mats get filthy underneath

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

yes would like to do the extension first for sure

[@andrewwebb2691]

If you stand on concrete all the time or even work on it kills your legs and feet

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Yeah definitely, you can certainly feel it

[@brianjonker510]

It would be money spent that does not have a payback.

[@BC-vg3zf]

Disagree as we have grooved our yard and it just wore back in 2 years. Matting certainly has made it better in the pit and the yard

[@brianjonker510]

@@BC-vg3zf Better doesnot mean a monetary payback

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

you could save grass and limit pugging so I think it would a bit

[@brianjonker510]

@@TheOnceADayFarmer I didnt know that you "Stand the cows off" during weather conditions. So yeah that makes it look different

[@melon1323]

So why don’t you just them off on the feed pad instead

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

Still on concrete and that would cost 90k to Mat, plus I haven’t got enough effluent storage

[@johnpick6829]

Can't see the benefit only the company doing it get 20000 dollars

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

great for standing cows off during the winter. saves grass and also saves pugging so would definitely help. but its a of money

[@ezraseibel8407]

The mats will up your bacterial count

[@StephenHolland-gv3kj]

Don't do it. Waste of money hard to clean

[@rancher4911]

I think it would affect ur cell count

[@TheOnceADayFarmer]

You reckon? I don't know if it would, we would hose it out every day like normal so would be pretty clean

[@rancher4911]

@@TheOnceADayFarmer the matting would act as an insulator so when they would touch any steel work etc they could pick up static ,shock all be it on a very small level

[@MarkDonnelly-j9v]

Hi I like your video

[@MarkDonnelly-j9v]

Hi I like your video