# Portable Milking Stanchion (pic)



## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

The front two bars pivot, bolts hold it in position while you milk. This new photo ought to give you perspective...Not a hard build, even sold a few....Topside


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

I've seen your pictures before~ and I'm seriously thinking about building one Topside.....Just ran pregnancy tests on my bottle babies from two years ago and they ARE pregnant!! But bull has only been with them for 5 months so I've got some time still.

I probably can't justify the expense with all the other expenses here lately....
but if you were to build one for sale....
what would it sell for?


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Cheryl I'll PM you later this week..In case you were wondering it will fit in the back of a fullsize pickup....Topside


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## barefootflowers (Jun 3, 2010)

Topside- Thanks for the new pic. I didn't get the "pivot" part before. I showed my husband and it looks like we/he has a new project for this weekend. I feel like I'm the one having the baby


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I like the simple design. I have an idea on the moveable 2x4s. Instead of bolting and unbolting each time, if you used those closer together bolts as stops and you could drop a piece of wood between the verticle treated 4x4 and the moveable 2x4s. You could keep it in place with a wider board nailed to the top of it or figure a way to hinge them.

Actually, you could do it with just one 2x4 moving. My old barn had some home built stancions that had just one board moving. there was a notched board attached to the moving board, so when it was close together, that notched board dropped into a slot and kept the cow contained during milking. Then just lift the notched board and it opens up.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

The stand in this photo is not complete, it's just an example. The bolts act as pins, not bolts. You don't complete and make adjustments until your cow is in place...Anyway enjoy the photo.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

But it doesn't protect from kicking. Is there a way to build it that might protect from kicking while milking?


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## katy (Feb 15, 2010)

Once upon a time, they had what could be called "cuffs" to stop kicking for serious problems.

No idea whether they are still around and available............


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

You sit on the outside of the platform and milk, not on the platform. Plus if you had a crazy kicker maybe you should have left with an empty trailer or worked with the little heifer throughout it's lifetime. Buying a dairy cow can be tricky so don't buy them just because they look cute...Topside


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## uarelovedbygod (Nov 1, 2003)

I need to build a stanchion soon for our pregnant jersey. Like your picture. What is the dimension of the platform, and what did you build the floor surface out of?

Thanks!

--Chris


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Chris the floor surface is 90" long by 44" wide. Base is three 4 x 4's, the third 4 x4 goes down the center of the deck. Planking is rough cut hickory...Topside


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## 65284 (Sep 17, 2003)

I built and used on very similar to your basic setup. Mine differed mainly in that one of the upright 2"X4"s was fixed semi-permanently to the upper and lower crossbars with bolts, I drilled extra holes 4" apart so I could adjust the width for different sized cows. 

The other upright 2"X4" pivoted on a bolt through the bottom cross pieces as your does, but I attached one end of a hinge to the inside of the 4"X4" frame post and the other side of the hinge to a "2X6" block. After the cows head was in the stanchion the "2X4" pivoting upright is closed on her neck and the block, which is sized to hold the upright vertical, comes down behind it on top of the upper cross pieces, locking the cows head in place.

The handy aspect of this setup is there are no bolts to deal with unless the stanchion is being adjusted for cow size, simply raise the upright drop the block in place to restrain the cow and reverse the procedure to free the cow.

This isn't complicated and is much easier to make than it sounds.


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## Menglish (May 7, 2009)

My dad built one for my sister of a very similar design. He did use upright posts at the back corners and ran a 2X6 above and put a tin roof over it to protect from rain. Also built a feed trough on the front to feed grain/sweet feed while milking. Worked great on a Dexter and now my sister's Jersey.


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## 65284 (Sep 17, 2003)

65284 said:


> I built and used on very similar to your basic setup. Mine differed mainly in that one of the upright 2"X4"s was fixed semi-permanently to the upper and lower crossbars with bolts, I drilled extra holes 4" apart so I could adjust the width for different sized cows.
> 
> The other upright 2"X4" pivoted on a bolt through the bottom cross pieces as your does, but I attached one end of a hinge to the inside of the 4"X4" frame post and the other side of the hinge to a "2X6" block. After the cows head was in the stanchion the "2X4" pivoting upright is closed on her neck and the block, which is sized to hold the upright vertical, comes down behind it on top of the upper cross pieces, locking the cows head in place.
> 
> ...


I read this again and realized it wasn't very clear, so here is a, not to scale, sketch, it was made of oak from a local sawmill. Sorry, about the poor sketch, it's obvious I'm not a draftsman.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

Back in March when Topside first posted this I considered buying one of these from him. He quoted me a great price, but I declined because I was having a hard time walking and was not sure I would be able to keep my animals. I didn't know why my hip hurt. Long story short~ turned out my hip was broken (yes it's possible to walk around on a broken hip and not know why your hip hurts...I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't lived through it) Well after getting some pins in my hip and 7 weeks in a wheelchair....I FEEL GREAT! MUCH better than I did before! BUT~ I'm also having to pinch more pennies. (Hip surgery is expensive even with insurance). So I am going to build myself one of these stanchions. I've got lots of ideas how to adjust it to fit my needs~ I want skids and a roof on it. I have more questions though

IS 6 foot X 3 foot floor space large enough? The wood dimensions will work out more easily at 6'X3' but I don't want to find myself a bit short when it comes time to load Bessie in it...

And I will want to use it when I need to train Bossy to milk...Bossy is not as easy going as Bessie and I have a mighty fear of being kicked. (We are pretty sure a cow kicking me is what caused the broken hip before). So I know I want horizontal bars alond the side to control potential kicking action~ but I also want to use it to allow foster calves to nurse from the girls....so how many horizontal bars should I use and how high should I put them to afford the most kick protection and still allow my arms and/or a calfs head to fit through?

Edit to add~ I'm thinking of using 2X4 pressure treated for pretty much the whole thing including the kick bars if that helps you see what I'm imagining.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

OK~ well I'm not done but I got it started. The 2X4X6' wasn't available so I went with the 2X4X8' which changed the dimensions I had to work with some. The stanchion is roughed out completely at 7'X3' floor space~ the roof with be 8'X4', the front of the stanchion standing at 6'6" the back at 6'. The kick bar is at 18" high. Hopefully these dimensions will work as it is too late to change them. I hope to finish is tomorrow if nothing else comes up and then I'll put Bessie in it and take some pictures for critique.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)




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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Cheryl, you are one motivated, creative gal...."Bravo Zulu" as we used to say. Simply meaning, be proud of your work...Topside


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

I especially like the flower pots hanging to the right and rear of your milking stanchion...nice touch, you must milk from the left side....Topside


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

LOL! It does look like those are hanging from the stanchion! They are actually hanging from the porch, the stanchion is in front of the porch. The goat stand is on the porch as well, and the eventual placement of the cow stanchion Im thinking is right alongside the porch where the large bush is now. That way the overhang roof from the porch will help add weather protection and the electric will be easier to access. It's in front of the porch right now because it is WAY heavy ~I'll need to lift is with the boom on the tractor and get a couple people to help me position it correctly after I rip out that bush~ so I need help to do that part~

Thanks for the compliments I got the entire idea from modifications I wanted to make to your milk stanchion but buying yours just didn't work out...and as it worked out thats the most work I've put into a project in a while and it was much more a challenge than I anticipated. I'm pretty well whooped


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## Catalytic (Sep 15, 2010)

Cheryl aka JM said:


>


This looks fantastic! I may just steal your design!


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## Jcran (Jan 4, 2006)

Holy buckets! That is so nice, you shoulda just built a barn to go around it, lol.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

Catalytic said:


> This looks fantastic! I may just steal your design!


Thanks for the compliment! There is nothing original about that design~ I borrowed aspects from Topside and from all over the internet. I would suggest if your going to move it much to perhaps go ahead and add some more angle support. I'm considering adding a couple smallish triangles at the front and back~ the way I built it all the stability is where the cow would pull backwards from inside it. When I moved it out of my driveway over to the yard it swayed side to side more than I liked to see. Thats why I'm going to have to have more people help me move it into it's eventual final position. 

Good luck with yours and If you need more pics of mine from other angles let me know.



Jcran said:


> Holy buckets! That is so nice, you shoulda just built a barn to go around it, lol.


I really was working out a whole milking parlor in my mind but I have more ideas than money or physical ability right now. Maybe someday.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

When I was a boy all the dairy farmers had long feed troughs with a whole row of stanchions along it. The cows were let into the barn, each went to its place, the farmer threw a lever at one end and a long wooden bar closed all the cows in at once. Only one bar of the stanchion moved, the other was fixed. All the parts were of 2 x 4 lumber.

If you will get your heifer used to being handled well before she freshens (start before she is even bred) all you have to do is lead her into a shed with a feed trough, put your milking stool down beside her and go to work. Some people let the calf have a little milk so that the cow lets down her milk, then wash the udder and take what they want. Others, with an old gentle cow, take what they want first or even dispose of the calf and take it all. 

I always preferred to get my part last as the strippings were said to contain the most butterfat.


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