This single, wall mounted cow brush automatically rotates for 60 seconds when the cow pushes against it. The brushing action improves cow welfare by:

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.The Cow Brush is one of the most popular products in the Agri-kit range, it is suitable for use on beef and dairy cows. The concave of the brush fits round the contour of the cow to give the best results, our cows brush head is 2x longer than any of our competitors. A non-mechanical non-moving brush installed on a wall or rail cannot offer all-round access and so will service fewer cows.

The Cosy Cow has a compact design and, thanks to the flow start system always starts in the correct direction of rotation, regardless of where the animal comes from. The Cosy Cow can turn either left or right, which prevents the bristles from standing in one direction. 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.” 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, 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.”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. For that reason, Mr Evanson says it’s not a good idea to just put in one brush to ‘see if the cows take to it’. “Believe me, they will. And they’ll fight over it and it will get ‘hammered’. It will appear to keep the cows happy and busy for so long, but then it will break.”

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.” 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.” For rotary cow brushes the controls feature programmed automatic-start and stop, and in-built safety features to prevent overloading and trapped tails. The 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.Ensuring the utmost comfort for your animals is your daily goal. A Comfy cow brush can help! It’s a fact that cows greatly enjoy the sensation of being brushed byComfy Cow brushes. Our reliable brushes are therefore in use for up to 18 hours a day on average. Established in 1998, we have a proven history of excellent after-sales care and honouring warranties.

Studies on swinging cow brushes, that looked at milk production and mastitis incidence. The US-based work showed that second-lactation cows produced 3.5% (1kg) higher daily milk yield. And clinical mastitis was reduced by 34% in the cows in second and higher lactation in the cow-brush pens. 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.”Inclination limiter to transfer a stronger pressure onto the animal to improve effect compared to free hanging brushes And the increased activity of the cow may lead to less metabolic diseases, better digesting and eventually in higher milk production. Work has also shown that cows are more active in systems where brushes are fitted. “Particularly mechanical brushes,” says Mr Evanson. “Once cows have gone to groom themselves they are then more likely to visit the feed fence or the water trough. The brushes have been shown to increase milk yields in some cows.” Promar DairyDirect offers the most comprehensive range of consumable hardware products for the British dairy farmer. They’re robust pieces of kit and, if the brushes are routinely cleaned and the key moving parts greased regularly, they should provide a good service.