When should you use a manure robot in your barn?

If you’re running a farm, you know all about the tasks you have to deal with in and around your barn on a daily basis. These can take up a lot of your time, but fortunately there are more and more automated solutions available to help you. To save work, lots of farmers have therefore decided to use manure robots. When should you use a manure robot in your barn? Here are just some of the reasons.

Reason 1: automation and ease of work

Cleaning the barn floor is a daily task, and the cleaner the floor, the better the hygiene in the barn. One of the main reasons why dairy farmers decide to use a manure robot is because it makes their lives so much easier. Manure robots automatically clean the manure alleys at the times you want them to. The manure robot therefore cleans as often as you want, and takes a lot of work off your shoulders.

If your barn is mainly designed around long, straight corridors, a manure scraper is of course still a very convenient option. However, remember that you still have to find another way of cleaning the passages and other places beyond the reach of the manure scraper. You can determine the routes and times of a manure robot yourself, so you can really get the most out of it, and also set it to clean side passages!

Reason 2: there’s a manure robot suitable for all types of floor

Slatted floor, solid floor, or a rubber floor? Manure robots function on all types of floor. JOZ supplies 2 models: The Barn-E and the JOZ-Tech. The Barn-E manure robot is specially designed for solid barn floors, while the JOZ-Tech is suitable for all other types of floor. If you’re still in doubt about whether to switch to a manure robot, at least you know that the barn floor type will not pose an obstacle.

In addition to hygiene in the barn, the manure robot also keeps track of the scraping and other movements via a data logger. Are you a livestock farmer with a low-emission floor? Then you must be able to prove that the floor has been scraped clean at least every 2 hours over the past 3 months. The JOZ data logger records the start times and the different routes, and you can easily access them.

Reason 3: cow-friendly manure robots

Manure robots are also not an obstacle for your livestock. Robots maintain sufficient distance from the box edges, do not move too quickly (drive speed 6.5 m/min) and are designed not to hurt cows. No hard edges, but rounded corners to protect cows’ legs.

One of our customers who has had a Barn-E in their barn for a while said: ‘Since we started using the manure robot, our cows suffer much less from cracks in hooves, so we save a lot of time when it comes to hoof care.’ For more information, read about Pierre Birkel’s experiences with a manure robot.

Barn requirements

A manure robot does require certain things of your barn. If you’re thinking of building a new barn, you can take the manure robot’s requirements into account during the design phase. For example, it’s important that the manure robot can pass under the fences. The barn must have a clear passage height of at least 70 cm. The box edge must also be at least 15 cm high. With another side guide, this is at least 10 cm.

You also have to think carefully about the location of the manure robot’s charging station. If you decide to get a JOZ-Tech with a sprayer, you’ll need a water supply nearby. Furthermore, it shouldn’t occupy space used by the cows to walk around.

Can you see any obstacles in your current barn? A lot is possible with a few minor changes. Our dealers will be happy to check your barn to determine if it already meets the requirements, or what changes may be necessary.

More info?

Would you like advice on which solution is most suitable for your barn? And the advantages of manure robots? Then contact a dealer near you.