In addition to the robotic milkers we put into the freestall barns, we also added automatic cow brushes. The cow brushes are exactly what they sound like — they’re big, round brushes and give the cows a good back scratch when they are near them. Who doesn’t like to have their back scratched?!
The brushes work automatically. When a cow walks up to a brush and touches the brush with her back, the brush starts rotating. The cows just stand under the brush and get a nice, satisfying scratch for as long as they want. If the cows push too hard on them, the brush will automatically stop moving. We put a few brushes in each pen, and there are always cows using them. An added bonus of the brushes is that they help keep the cows clean.
In all honesty, I didn’t realize how much the cows would love them. Had I known, I would have installed the brushes a long time ago. They are so happy, and that makes me happy. We added the brushes to the barns purely for cow comfort. The cows are relaxed, clean, comfortable and content.
