A system may provide for delivering a sequence of one or more soaking sprays at a station where an animal is present. The station may include a pressurized pipe supplying a liquid for the soaking spray, a valve and nozzle coupled to the pipe, and a control circuit coupled to the valve. The control circuit may be operable to determine the sequence of the soaking spray using a signal from an animal sensor that is configured to detect the presence of the animal at the station. The system may include an environmental sensor providing at least one signal to the control circuit. The signal from the environmental sensor may be used by the control circuit to determine the sequence for the soaking spray.

Described is a system for milking animals, including cows, having an accommodation space in which the animals can walk around, and several stationary milking stations placed next to each other. Each milking station at a head end thereof includes a neck lock device which can be moved by way of an actuator device between a locked state in which a milking animal in said milking station can be locked at the neck by said neck lock device, and an open state in which a milking animal in said milking station is free to move its head in and/or out of the neck lock device. Also included is an automatic milking system for the automatic milking of milking animals and a control system that is actively connected to the actuator device of each neck lock device.

A head gate drive assembly for a livestock chute features a rectangular longitudinal shaft at a first side of the chute, a handle slidable along the shaft and operable to rotate same, and a control arm coupled to the shaft at the front of the chute to operate the head gate. The arm and shaft are directly coupled in a fastener-free removable manner enabling remounting of the arm in a reversed orientation for use at an opposing second side of the chute. Front and rear support assemblies for the shaft are removably mounted at first predefined mounting locations on the first side of the chute, which are mirrored by a second set of predefined mounting locations on the second side of the chute. The front support assembly features bushings of circular outer profile rotatable inside a housing, and of rectangular inner profile conforming to the shaft passing through said housing.

A livestock head holder with movably supported top and bottom holding members movable by an operating mechanism into a closed state bracing against the topside and underside of an animal's head, neck or jaw region. Selectively attachable scoop extensions for the bottom head holder enable selective enlargement of a neck scoop thereof for more effective performance on larger animals of greater size at said body region. A selectively attachable/removable stabilizer on the top holding member is of increased breadth relative to a main elongated bar of the top holding member to increase the area of surface contact at the topside of said body region. This spreads the holding force over a greater area and reduces pressure concentration on the animal's body to provide increased comfort and a calming effect.

A livestock head holder with movably supported top and bottom holding members movable by an operating mechanism into a closed state bracing against the topside and underside of an animal's head, neck or jaw region. Selectively attachable scoop extensions for the bottom head holder enable selective enlargement of a neck scoop thereof for more effective performance on larger animals of greater size at said body region. A selectively attachable/removable stabilizer on the top holding member is of increased breadth relative to a main elongated bar of the top holding member to increase the area of surface contact at the topside of said body region. This spreads the holding force over a greater area and reduces pressure concentration on the animal's body to provide increased comfort and a calming effect.

Described herein is an animal handling device in the form of a cattle crush with automated headbail capture, back bar operation and positional sensing along with methods of use thereof. The crush and method offer automation for functions that in the art have been largely manual and inherently labour intensive, physical and even potentially dangerous for the operator and/or animal.

Described herein is an animal handling device in the form of a cattle crush with automated headbail capture, back bar operation and positional sensing along with methods of use thereof. The crush and method offer automation for functions that in the art have been largely manual and inherently labour intensive, physical and even potentially dangerous for the operator and/or animal.

A livestock squeeze chute is operable in parallel-squeeze, V-squeeze and inverted-V squeeze configurations, and has a head gate with a novel guide track construction for robust rolling support of the gate panels, and a neck extender having uniquely positioned actuators that pull the neck extender upwardly into its working position. The squeeze panels are supported in suspended and hinged fashion from a set of movable supports that are displaceable laterally back and forth along a set of overhead support tracks. A pair of upper actuators are operable to move the hinged-equipped supports, and thereby relocate the tops of the squeeze panels, while a set of lower actuators are operable to relocate the bottom ends of the squeeze panels. The head gate's guide track uses two L-shaped bars and a cooperating U-channel to define a pair of enclosed channels in which roller carriages of the two gate panels are respectively received.

A system may provide for delivering a sequence of one or more soaking sprays at a station where an animal is present. The station may include a pressurized pipe supplying a liquid for the soaking spray, a valve and nozzle coupled to the pipe, and a control circuit coupled to the valve. The control circuit may be operable to determine the sequence of the soaking spray using a signal from an animal sensor that is configured to detect the presence of the animal at the station. The system may include an environmental sensor providing at least one signal to the control circuit. The signal from the environmental sensor may be used by the control circuit to determine the sequence for the soaking spray.

A front element for stalling an animal in a free stall, that is better suited than earlier devices to the morphology and movements of the animal to be contained, helping guide the animal when it is positioning itself, standing up and/or lying down in its free stall. Such a front element can be implemented in a pair in a front structure, in order to delimit the internal space I of said free stall.