The View from Animal Health Ireland: Milking machines spend many hours connected to the most valuable part of your farm – your cows. So making sure they are serviced regularly is essential to ensure that they don’t contribute to mastitis in your herd.
At this time of year:
- Book in your service before spring time with a registered IMQCS technician. A list of these in your local area is available here.
- Get the service technician to go through the report fully with you – it is important to have an understanding of how the machine is functioning, and why certain recommendations may have been made.
- Carry out any repairs needed immediately.
- Start the season with a new set of liners, and change them after 2,000 milkings or six months, whichever comes first.
- To keep machines in top condition test and service every six months.
- Don’t forget about the teat sprayers! Check that these are working fully and replace any nozzles that are blocked or faulty.
At every milking: Carry out checks to make sure you have a fully functioning machine. Daily, weekly and monthly checks will help as an early warning system of any faults. See our CellCheck video to see what these simple recommended checks are.
More information is available online here.