Abstract: Facility for lactating animals includes pens in a freestall barn and a milking parlor where animals from the pens are simultaneously milked while separated. The number of animals from different pens in milking stalls is changed by sliding a parlor barrier past entrances and exits of parlor stalls. Each pen includes bedding free stalls, an alley accessible by the animals as they enter and leave the free stalls, and a movable barrier traversing the accessible alley. The pen barrier assures that animals go to the milking parlor. Paths cause animals in a first pen, prior to milking, to return to the first pen after milking while preventing animals in other pens, prior to milking, from entering the first pen after milking. There are separate return alleys to each pen from separate parlor exits. The pen barrier prevents animals from occupying stalls it passes and refurbishes these stalls.

Abstract: Facility for lactating animals includes pens in a freestall barn and a milking parlor where animals from the pens are simultaneously milked while separated. The number of animals from different pens in milking stalls is changed by sliding a parlor barrier past entrances and exits of parlor stalls. Each pen includes bedding free stalls, an alley accessible by the animals as they enter and leave the free stalls, and a movable barrier traversing the accessible alley. The pen barrier assures that animals go to the milking parlor. Paths cause animals in a first pen, prior to milking, to return to the first pen after milking while preventing animals in other pens, prior to milking, from entering the first pen after milking. There are separate return alleys to each pen from separate parlor exits. The pen barrier prevents animals from occupying stalls it passes and refurbishes these stalls.

Abstract: Manure is scrapped from a barn floor including an elongated conduit by blades on a trolley moving in the direction of the elongated conduit. The manure passes into the conduit via a slot. The trolley has a paddle wheel and drive wheels bearing on the conduit interior lower surface. The entirety of the drive wheels and most of the paddle wheel are in the conduit. A sprocket and chain arrangement connects the wheels so that, as the drive wheels turn, the paddle wheel turns to urge manure into the conduit.

Abstract: Manure is scrapped from a barn floor including an elongated conduit by blades on a trolley moving in the direction of the elongated conduit. The manure passes into the conduit via a slot. The trolley has a paddle wheel and drive wheels bearing on the conduit interior lower surface. The entirety of the drive wheels and most of the paddle wheel are in the conduit. A sprocket and chain arrangement connects the wheels so that, as the drive wheels turn, the paddle wheel turns to urge manure into the conduit.

Abstract: Animal waste is removed from a barn floor by moving a trolley in a first direction adjacent a first trough in the floor. As the trolley moves in the first direction: a blade extending from the trolley scrapes the waste into a region adjacent the trough; rotating paddles on the trolley drive the waste from the region into the trough; and a plow on the trolley that extends into the trough drives the waste toward one end of the trough for removal. Alternatively water drives the waste in the trough in the first direction. When the trolley moves away from the one end, the blades scrape the waste toward the region and the paddles drive the waste into the trough, but the plow is idle because the plow pivots to ride on top of the waste.

Abstract: Many cows are simultaneously loaded onto a stationary car that is thereafter moved to a milking station. The time for the car to move from a loading station to the milking station exceeds the time while the car is at the milking station. The distance between the loading and milking stations exceeds the length of each of several such cars that traverse a path between the stations. The cars move from the milking station to an animal discharging station and then back to the loading station. Teats are cleaned and dried at stations between the loading and milking stations. Each car is broadside of the path at the loading and discharging stations so the cows have equal access to and from stalls of cars at the loading and discharging stations. Each car includes an excrement catcher that is raised as the cows enter the stalls. Two such paths share an operator at a loading area and another operator at two side-by-side milking areas.