EB Equipment was showing a new in-parlour feeder at Livestock 2012. At the moment, most dairy farmers either use relatively expensive full auto-ID with neck transponders on the cows or simple flat-rate feeders that don’t offer much flexibility in terms of varying the ration amounts.

The EB unit gives a mid-way option that allows each cow to be given a different ration. Once the cows are in the milking parlour, the cowman is able to quickly decide how much to give each one.

Coloured buttons give a quick way to set individual rations. For example pushing brown gives 0.5kg, red gives 1kg, yellow 2kg, green 4kg and blue 8kg. There’s also a skip function.

The hoppers hold 18-22kg and are mounted on a rail attached to the wall. It’s a sealed unit, with the auger tube forming part of the hopper lid.

For more on this topic

See our Livestock 2012  event page