Abstract: An animal milking method and apparatus wherein a single milk meter measures the total milk flow from all four quarters of an animals udder, and the data generated by the milk meter is used to detect a departure from a predicted milk flow versus time relationship, indicative of an injured teat or an infected udder quarter, for altering the herdsman to a condition which warrants medical inspection of the animal concerned.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for calibrating milk meters in a milking system comprising a milking station (10a, 10b; 20) having at least one milk meter (14a,14b; 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d) that measures a value of a milking performance of a milking animal. The method comprises the steps: determining a reference value which reflects the amount of milk received from a number of milking animals during a selected time period in a reference unit (19; 32), retrieving all measured values during the selected time period for each milk meter (14a, 14b; 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d) that by itself contribute to the amount of milk received by the reference unit (19; 32), comparing the reference value with the sum of all retrieved measured values and calculating a correction function for one of the milk meters, and using the calculated correction function to adjust the measured value from the milk meter.

Abstract: A milking parlor (10) comprises a row of stalls (14) accessible to milk producing animals (12) from a front end (14a) thereof, and adapted for milking the animals; and an identification station (20) arranged in the front end for identifying the animals when entering the parlor. A method of verifying the identities of the animals in the row comprises: (i) identifying the animals in the stall located at the far end (14b) of the row, in the stall located at the front end (14a) of the row, and in a stall located there in between by first, second and third identification members (24, 26, 28); (ii) comparing the identifications of the first, second, and third identification members (24, 26, 28) with the first, last and n'th identifications from the identification station (20), where the stall located between the far and front ends is the n'th stall as counted from the far end (14b); and (iii) depending on the comparison verifying the identities of at least some of the animals (12) in the row (14).