Bringing in the cows: Sunday morning back scratch

Number 9 at 17 years old

This morning I took my camera with me for the morning milking to catch some photos of number 9, the old girl of the herd who has turned 17 years old and take some photos of the landscape around the farm, and as I came back in to the yard after getting all the cows in from the field I could not resist catching a bit of footage of one of the cows enjoying the pleasure of scratching on a robotic cow brush.
Eighteen months ago the cows I milk received a Christmas present, a DeLaval swinging cow brush SCB and when the cows are in the yard it is in constant use. We already had a static cow brush, but this takes scratching to another level for cows and when watching them using it, the joy it obviously brings to them, I would highly recommend getting one to any Dairy farmer. The brushes massage the cow. Massage is very good for circulation and it helps releases the feel good hormone Oxytocin. ​In human studies of the benefits of massage have demonstrated that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain, and muscle tension. 
​Happy cows make for more milk and better health. DeLaval say that herds using the cow brush reported reductions in cases of Mastitis. In the last eighteen months we have seen a reduction in mastitis in the herd, but I jokingly reminded Steve (the farmer I milk for), also around eighteen months ago I started milking more for them, going from four milkings a fortnight to milking at least eleven milkings a fortnight. 

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A few photos of the landscape getting the cows in this morning.