week FOUR: Milking Machines and Milking Parlors
A milking machine is a device composed of several parts that when properly assembled and supplied with a source of energy, will remove milk from an animal’s udder and transport milk to a storage vessel. A well-designed system will harvest milk quickly and gently, make efficient use of labor, maintain animal udder health, and will be easy to clean and sanitize.
The purpose of this chapter is to explain how a milking machine works, describe each of the components, identify key criteria for milking machine design, discuss special aspects of fitting a milking machine into a milking parlor, and describe various options for milking parlor design.
