Hamish & Bernadette Wales use the EasyMst Slat Mats for their Herd Home.
“We milk 500 cows through a rotary shed and have two 60m long by 3 grates wide herd homes which we winter them in, and we have the Easymat slat mats in them.
The reason we put slat mats in was for cow comfort and to make the effluent simpler to deal with. Also, the straw was blocking up the slats/grates and the storage tank under them. Now there is a lot more storage as straw is not blocking up slats and it doesn’t fill up the tank as quick and stays more liquid. Also, over time they pay themselves off with no labour required to spread the straw out.
Sore joints with straw – we found the cows got sore joints, stiffer etc, whereas with the mats they are a lot more comfortable as there is a nice soft surface for them to walk on and sit down on when in the herd home.
Another reason is straw gets wet and messy, whereas mats dry out fast and don’t smell and they are generally a lot cleaner and because of the shape the effluent drains off.
We also found that the cows are not fighting to sit where there is straw, they are now spaced out through the herd home and have their own area. It is better for their feet than concrete.
With the design, moisture rolls off it easier than the flat mats, and there is more grip than the dimples, thicker than and more comfortable.
We have them in there from dry off to calving, so they are in there for 2 to 3 months. Straw gets too wet but with the mats, the cows can hop up from sitting down a lot easier as can get a grip, not like on a concrete hard surface. As we calve in the herd home, they use space better with the mats instead of straw. This is time-saving, saving an hour every day in the peak of calving
Animals stay cleaner, not as daggy. Definitely recommend it.”
Hamish & Bernadette Wales