Stanchion size?

[davendahlonega]

I am about to start building stanchions for my heifers and was wondering if 36 inches wide is wide enough? How wide are yours? Also, what would you have done different?

Dave

[liz]

Dave are you talking about stanchions or standing stalls? Liz

[marion]

Dave, I measured an old dairy barn, and the stanchions were hanging three feet apart. That is for regular dairy breeds, but I dont think you would want any less for a Dexter, if they are going to be spending any time stanchioned up and needing space to lay down. These were the type of metal stanchions fixed top and bottom with a bit of chain, which allows some movement, rather than the fixed wooden ones which might be better if it's just a milking stall...marion

[lazyj5]

The platform on my milking stanchion is about 36" and is too wide for small Dexters (we built it when I was milking Jerseys). The Dexters sometimes crowd over to the far side and I have an uncomfortable reach to milk. If I were to build one for Dexters, I'd make it 30" wide. As Marion says, stalls where the cows will be housed need to have room for them to lay down and be comfortable.

[davendahlonega]

I am not going to leave my girls in the stanchion any longer than it is going to take to milk them. I was concerned that they would move away and be a pain to reach, thanks Deb. I am sure there will be lots of moving, kicking, and a general rodeo at milking time as both are heifers and have never been milked. Do you milk them on a raised platform? Those that milk more than one cow each morning...Do you use one stall and bring each cow in one at a time or do you put everyone in their separate milking stall and go to each one?

Dave

[lazyj5]

Dave, my stanchion is raised about 6", really helps my back when milking the shorter cows. It has a bar that keeps the cow from stepping over sideways onto me, but is high enough that I can milk under it easily. Here are a few pics of it. You can see how large it is for this Dexter (she's small). I had to put a filler board in the head catch, as it was made for my Jerseys. Since these pics were taken it has been moved into a different barn, thoroughly cleaned and painted.

[davendahlonega]

Thanks for the pictures! I had thought of the bar on my side, but, I am afraid I'll hit my head all the time. So. about 30" wide with a 6 " platform for ease of milking. Thank you very much Deb.

Dave

[sengdroma]

We saw these on the internet and were wondering if anyone could explain how they would be used.
belleville.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAdLargeImage?AdId=106539240&img=http%3A%2F%2Fimg1.classistatic.com%2Fcps%2Fl%2Fkj%2F09%2F2%2F12%2F526%2Fr6%2F5251b2d_18.jpeg

[marion]

Hi Sengdroma, Those stanchions are typical of what was used for years in dairy barns. $20 apiece is quite expensive, unless they are in very good shape. They usually have a round swivel piece at the top, and that and the bolt thing it hangs in can get very worn. There is also a wire tensioner spring that fits in the closure arm, and they get very slack with old age. Some feed stores still sell replacement parts, but it's better if you can pick the less worn ones from a large lot when you find some for sale.
The top swivel part hangs from a steel top bar (or you can make a top bar with doubled two-by's), and the bottom has a few chain links that fasten to the floor concrete (or another fabricated wooden bar). They were made to swivel that way because the cows were housed all winter, and the stanchion allowed some ease of movement. For milking only, you could use one of those and fix it solid, or build your own with wooden side pieces..marion

[sengdroma]

Thanks for the info. We only really need them for milking a cow that has never been milked, I figured it was easier to put her in stanchions then tie her up. I think that it might be easier to build our own out of wood then unless we can find a new set any where that is not overally expensive. What is a good price for a new set?

[marion]

I don't believe those are made any more, and new steel anything for livestock, the price would scare you! If the parts arent worn badly the stanchions are worth having..I got 20 of them free for the removal from a barn that was being demolished and of those, about six still have working springs and less wear on the swivel parts. If they are close to you, they are worth a look..after all gas isn't cheap and it would save you looking elsewhere, or waiting for a farm auction. The ad. does say "OBO"