EasySwing Cow Brush - Large - Cow Comfort Cattle Brush - Cow Scratcher works for Cows, Horses, Goats and other Livestock - Strong Enough for Bulls Yellow

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It’s a natural instinct. If cows are in a field they’ll rub up against hedges, gates, posts, trees – anything that offers some resistance,” says Dairy Spares’ Tim Evanson. He says that brushes will be particularly popular with cows at this time of year, as they’re losing their winter coats. “They’re itchy and need to stimulate hair shedding and blood flow.” This cattle scratching brush provides a safe, easy, economical way to let your cows have a good scratch. Static cow scratching brushes: When the cow pushes against the brush it rotates automatically for 60-90 seconds, then switches off until pushed again. A safety sensor stops the brush if it catches the cow’s tail.

Non-mechanical ‘swing’ or ‘sprung’ brushes siting is not as stringent. “They should be installed where the cows will use them, when they’re housed or when they come inside during the summer for buffer feeding. Cows love to use them and so regular cleaning and maintenance to help reduce wear is important.” If they’re inside then troughs, railings, walls – anything solid – will also take the brunt of their grooming behaviour. And, if cow brushes are fitted, these will obviously be put through their paces.” Suitable for animals of different sizes, the static Texas cattle scratching brush provide an economical alternative to automatic cow brushes. They meet the requirements of Farm Assurance Schemes including Arla 360 contracts and are eligible for the Animal Health and Welfare grant FETF233A Static cow brush. And ask any producer who has fitted brushes and they will tell you that the cows never leave them alone – they’re almost in constant use.”

A good brush will not only stimulate blood flow, but also allow the cow to groom parts of her body that other ‘scratching posts’ can’t reach. Although the intuitive concept of the swinging cow brush being associated with better productivity and increased health may be straightforward, no hard data exist to quantify this potential relationship. Therefore a comparison study of cows experiencing a cow brush was designed, including a contemporary control and pre-study baseline measurements. Mounting several brushes vertically and horizontally at different heights around your yard or building means your animals can all scratch that itch and choose the position that suits them best.

One mechanical brush should cater for between 50 and 60 cows: “That’s the limit – they will still work it hard and it will run for most of the day with that number of cows.” Few things are more fascinating to watch than a cow having a good scratch while ‘playing’ with a brush. They enjoy grooming – it’s a natural behaviour that’s key to good health and welfare. And the increased activity of the cow may lead to less metabolic diseases, better digesting and eventually in higher milk production. And there’s no need to take his word for it. In a trial, cows were monitored three months prior to brush installation and for a further six months after brushes were fitted. “The time cows spent grooming themselves was more than six times greater than before the brushes were installed,

x 40mm M12 threaded bolts with washers and nuts for fixing the brush to metal stanchions. (You will need to pre-drill holes using an M12 metal drill bit)

They certainly enrich the cow environment. It’s clear to see that cows get a lot of pleasure from the brushes. And the fact that there are also health benefits is the icing on the cake really – and another good reason to consider investing in brushes.” x 80mm M12 steel anchor bolts for fixing the brush to concrete panels. (You will need to pre-drill holes using an M12 masonry drill bit) Siting is important to get right. “The brushes, as you can imagine, remove a lot of dust and dirt and hair. So next to water troughs is not ideal for that reason alone. And it’s also important that they’re placed away from water troughs and feed fence access. Care must be taken to avoid disrupting cow flow.” Our automatic rotating cow brushes are eligible for grants under the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund products FETF98 and FETF99. Non-powered brushesThe work also revealed that cows in a pen with a mechanical brush increased their grooming time approximately five-fold compared to a pen without such a brush. The researchers concluded that a grooming device helps to satisfy the cow’s need for grooming while at the same time improving cow cleanliness. Both these factors (better ‘welfare’ and cleaner cows) may have an impact on disease occurrence and on milk production. Cow flow can also suffer if there are too few brushes installed. “It can actually serve to create stress, rather improve cow welfare and comfort, if the brushes themselves are a ‘pinch point’. Cows queuing to use the brushes or dominant cows preventing others from using them may become an issue where are aren’t enough brushes to go around.” They are easy to install, come with comprehensive operating instructions and require little maintenance.