CA1256760A - Method and means for keeping cattle in a stall barn - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD AND MEANS FOR KEEPING CATTLE IN STALL BARN

Abstract of the Disclosure A method and means for keeping cattle in a stall barn is provided.
The barn has feeding and resting places where each animal is kept during feeding and rest in a separate stall defined by vertical parallel side stall partitions, the animals being free from re-straining connections to the feeding table and said partitions and being confined at the rear of the stall by a closing means con-trolled by power transmissions means which lifts it to a level above the standing height of the animals to allow them to back out from their individual stalls and move to a common collecting place along a predetermined route of a way system, the animals being subsequently returned to their stalls by the same or a different route, and the closing means being returned to confining position behind the animals, said routes being established by a plurality of adjustable gates within said way system, the gates being set in different positions by individual power transmission means. The animals are divided into a plurality of individual groups having a small number of animals in each group, the groups being distribut-ed along said feeding and resting places, said power transmission means for both the closing means and the gates being automatically controlled by control means of a common control station. Said con-trol means is permitted to actuate the power transmission means for the closing means in a predetermined sequence depending on the particular group of animals being selected and at the same time actuate the power transmission means for those gates which are to be set to establish said predetermined route for the group se-lected when this is to be moved to or from said collecting place.

Description

~2S6760 METHOD AND MEANS FOR KEEPING CATTLE IN A STALL BARN

Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of keeping cattle in a stall barn and also to a means which is useful in carrying out the method.

To achieve highly rational operation in milk pro~uction, all parts of the system upon which the operation is based must function in a satisfactory manner. One weak link in this system has been the de-sign of stall fittings for Feeding and resting places in which the animals are free from restraint at the neck and can move freely backwards when a rear closing means is removed.

DE-A1-32 18 380 and US-A-3 166 044 describe rear closing means in the form of rotatably mounted gates. Similar and other closing ar-rangements are described in the examination work "Feeding and resting places" by Gunnar Israelsson and Perarne Mattson, the Swedish Agricultural University (Uppsala 1979). These known ar-rangements use tube or bar constructions. Such rigid and stiff bar constructions cause considerable strain onto the attachment points of the gates when the animals come into contact with the stall gates. This may damage the stall gates, their attachment points and parts of the journalling and manoeuvre means, thus im-pairing the opening function so that the animal is confined in its stall when adjacent animals are let out. Due to the cow's in grained group-dependence she may then behave in a manner causing further damage to the stiff stall gate. Another problem is that the cows excrete on the stiff stall gates thus soiling them.

The primary object of the present invention is therefore to pro-vide an improved method and means for keeping cattle in a stall barn.

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Another object of the invention is to achieve improved stall fit-tings having closing means which eliminate the problems mentioned above thus paving the way for highly rational milk production in keeping cattle in a stall barn having feeding and resting places and a milking parlor located at a distance therefrom.

Summary of the Invention The invention relates to a method of keeping cattle in a stall barn having feeding and resting places where each animal is kept during feeding and rest in a separate stall defined by vertical parallel side stall partitions, the animals being free from re-straining connections to the feeding table and said partitions and being confined at the rear of the stall by a closing means con-trolled by power transmissions means which lifts it to a level above the standing height of the animals to allow them to back out from their individual stalls and move to a common collecting place3 such as a milking parlor and exercising pen, along a prede-termined route of a way system, the animals being subsequently re-turned to their stalls by the same or a different route, and the closing means being returned to confining position behind the ani-mals, said routes being established and determined by means of aplurality of adjustable gates within said way system, the gates being set in different predetermined positions by individual power transmission means, said animals being divided into a plurality of individual groups having a small number of animals in each group, the groups being distributed along said feeding and resting places, said power transmission means for both the closing means and the gates being automatically controlled by control means of a common control station~ and permitting said control means to actu-ate the power transmission means for the closing means in a prede-termined sequence depending on the particular group of animals be-ing selected and at the same time actuate the power transmission means for those gates which are to be set to establish said prede-termined route for the group selected when this is to be moved to ~IL25~;~i4D

or from said collecting place so that routes intended for other traffic or for other groups of animals are blocked by the gates.

The invention also relates to a means for keeping cattle in a stall barn having feeding and resting places where each an;mal is kept during feeding and rest in a separate stall defined by verti-cal parallel side stall partitions, said animals being divided in-to a plurality of individual groups having a small number of ani-mals in each group, the groups being distributed along said feed-ing and resting places, said means comprising closing means for confining the animals in their stalls and controlled by power transmissions means, and gates and power transmission means for said gates in order to establish predetermined routes of a way system for the animals to and from a specific collecting place at a distance from said feeding and resting places, such as a milking parlor and exercising pen, said closing means being mounted at the rear of the stalls behind each animal within each group, the clos-~ ing means for each group being arranged to be raised and lowered simultaneously by an individual power transmission means, and a common control station having control means for automatically con-trolling the power transmission means for said gates and closing means, said control means being mounted to actuate the power transmission means for the closing means in a predetermined se-quence depending on the group of animals selected, and at the same time actuating the power transmission means for the gates to be set in order to establish a predetermined route of said way system for the group selected, when this is to be moved to or from said collecting place, so that routes of said way system intended for other traffic or for the other groups of animals are blocked by the gates.

Description of the Drawings The invention will be described further in the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

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Figure 1 shows schematically a plan of a stall barn having feeding and resting places and a separate milking parlor;

Figure 2 shows stall fittings seen from the rear towards the feed-ing table and having parts of a means according to the invention for use in a stall barn according to Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows the stall fittings from one side.

Detailed Description of the preferred Embodiments With reference to Figure 1, it shows a stall barn for dairy cows which are divided into several groups designated from G1 to G16.
Each group of cows has its own feeding and resting place 1 and is guided to a collecting place in the form of a milking parlor 2 in the vicinity or an exercise yard outside the stall barn along a predetermined route of a way system. This system of grouping and guiding the animals in both d;rections requires special automati-cally controlled arrangements at, among other things, the feedingand resting place 1 of each group, ensuring that the animals of the group remain in their place 1 during rest and feeding and that they leave it together to be guided to the milking parlor or some other collecting place as is intended. Such an arrangement is il-lustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and comprises a special means forconfining the cows of a group in their respective stalls 4 and then, when desired, permitting simultaneously or substantially si-multaneously release of the cows in this group from their stalls 4, usually in connection with milking and exercise. The number of cows in each group may vary and is preferably in the range of 4 to 20 and most preferred 8 to 12.

Said means is included in the stall fittings pro~ided within the feeding and resting place 1 adjacent a feeding table 6 and com-prising vertical parallel side stall partitions 7 arranged to give each animal its own separate stall 4. Each partition comprises a ~L2~7 vertical support post 8 firmly anchored in the stall floor 5 at an essential distance from the feeding table 6, preferably sub-stantially at the middle of the stall floor 5. This post 8 forms the only connection or attachment to the foundation which includes both the stall floor 5 and the feeding table 6. This gives the animal a considerable amount of freedom. It also reduces problem of corrosion since the single attachment point usually remains dry. Some of the posts, e.g. alternate posts, may be extended to provide roof support and to stabilize the stall fittings general-ly. The posts 3 are suitably filled with concrete to further in-crease service life and durability.

With respect to the post 8 each side stall partition thus com-prises a forward bar section 9 and a rear bar sect;on 10, in line with each other and welded to the post 8. The forward bar section is provided with a shoulder support 11 or the like having no com-munication with the foundation. A forward restraining device such as the shoulder support 11 gives the animal greater freedom at the front limit of the stall. The shoulder support 11 is in the form of a horizontal U-tube, the connecting piece 3 being inclined downwardly and inwardly from the central plane of the stall. The shanks 17, 18 of the U-tube are detachably secured to the front bar section 9, the U-tube being inclined forwards-downwards. The connecting piece 3 and the entire shoulder support being inclined in the manner described enable it to fit better to the shape of the animal, causing less rubbing on the animal and facilitating movement of the animal when it wishes to lie down or get up. The shoulder support is adjustable enabling it to be set as desired on assembly plates 19, 20 enabling the length of the stall 4 to be adjusted to the size of the animal. This is of great significance in keeping the animal clean. The shoulder support is preferred but other types of forward restraining means may be used if desired.
The forward bar section 9 extends up to and a little way in over the feeding table 6. A water container 13 is located on a vertical forward bar 12 of the forward section 9. The water container 13 is ~2s6q~

thus located immediately above the feeding table 6 and no water will therefore spill onto the floor of the stall. If the feeding table is sufficiently wide the forward section 9 can be extended even further, thus preventing the animals from reaching each others' fodder rations. The forward bar 12 is extended upwardly and backwardly to an upper part, the consecutive connecting bars supporting a horizontal bar 14 to stabilize the side stall parti-tions 7. This horizontal bar 14 can advantageously be used to sup-port a water pipe 15 for the containers 13. The water pipe is easily mounted on the bar 14 with the aid of double U-clamps. The branches 16 from the water pipe 15 to the containers 13 are locat-ed in a protected position on top of the backwardly curved exten-sion of the forward bar 12 and along the front edge of the verti-cal part of this forward bar.

The stall fittings also comprise a special means for confining and simultaneous releasing the animals belonging to one and the same group. A rear closing means is provided for each stall 4, elon-gate, upright guide means, e.g. vertical, in the form of bars 21 being secured to the rear bar section 10 of each side stall parti-tion 7 and extending above this. Each bar 21 is provided with a sliding holder in the form of a sleeve 22 with one or two attach-ment rings depending on the position of the side stall partition (outer or intermediate position). The holders may alternatively slide in tubular rods with slits. If desired the bars may be some-what inclined rearwardly or curved so that the closing means will move away from the animal when the means is lifted. In the pre-ferred embodiment illustrated, each closing means comprises a bar-rier in the form of a rope 23, one end secured by splicing, for instance, to the sleeve 22 of one of the side stall partitions 7 and the other end secured by a hook 24, for instance, to the sleeve 22 of the other side stall partition of the same stall 4.
The rope 23 can then be freed manually from one of the sleeves to permit free access to the stall if desired, such as if an animal is to be moved from somewhere else to that particular stall place ~2~

for inclusion in the group. The barriers 23 are thus loosely sus-pended between their attachment points on the sleeves 22 and gen-erally consist of a flexible material or construction. Instead of such an unstretched or slack rope, an unstretched or slack wire, strip, chain or the like may be used, which offers the same desir-able properties so that it will be flexible and bend and turn away when the cow is contacting it with her back.

The sleeves 22 and thus also the rope 23 can be automatically moved from a 10wer position shown in Figure 2 in unbroken lines to an upper position shown in Figure 2 in broken lines, and back again with the aid of a common manoeuvre means. The lower position of the sleeves 22 and thus the rope 23 is predetermined in rela-tion to the stall floor 5 so that an animal standing in the stall cannot move back without feeling the rope. This is sufficient to restrain the animal without difficulty and it is therefore not tied by the neck or in any other manner. It can therefore move freely in its stall, but is unable to turn around since the dis-tance between two side stall partitions 7 is small enough to pre-- vent this. In this lower position, therefore, each rope 23 serves .0 to close the stall 4. The upper position of the sleeves 22 and thus the rope 23 is sufficiently high to enable the animal to move without coming into contact with the rope when it is permitted to back out of its stall 4. In this position, therefore, the rope opens the stall. According to a preferred embodiment the ropes for all -the animals in one group are set at a predetermined interme-diate level in relation to the height of the animals when stand-ing, such that an animal can enter the stall 4, the rope being de-flected by its neck and spine sections, whereas once it is in the stall 4 the rope 23 is sufficiently low in this intermediate level to prevent the animal from backing out. This intermediate level of the rope, a little lower than the height of the rear end of the animal when standing, is sufficient to have the desired restrain-ing effect while still allowing the rope to be pushed up out of the way as described above. This intermediate level is set after ~5~76~
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the animals have left their stalls 4. Upon returning from the milking parlor 2, for instance, they are able to enter their re-spective stalls 4 at leisure but once in, are unable to leave the stall 4. If, instead, the rope 23 were to be in its uppermost po-S sition, an animal could leave its stall 4 before all the animals in the group had entered theirs. The rope 23 is set automatically in the three positions, following a predetermined pattern9 by means of the manoeuvre means described below.

When the barriers 23 are to be set in the intermediate level as described above, besides a lower closing level and an upper open-ing level, two pneumatic cylinders are preferably used for opera-tion of the barriers. The cylinders are actuated one after the other, using the intermediate level as the limit for connecting and disconnecting the cylinders.

The vertical rods 21 support at their upper ends a horizontal U~profile 25, in the groove of which a pull rod 26 is displaceably - journalled for movement fro and to. The U-profile stabilizes the side stall partitions 7. Each sleeve 22 is connected to the pull rod 26 by a line or wire 27 running over a nylon pulley 28 in the downwardly facing groove of the U-profile and secured to a ring 29 on the pull rod 26 and an eye 30 on the sleeve 22. The pulleys 28 also serve to support the pull rod 26. When the pull rod 26 is moved to the right in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the pull rod 26 will pull the lines 27 with it, and these will in turn raise the sleeves 22 and ropes 23 to the upper position, shown in broken lines. When the pull rod 26 is moved in the other direction the sleeves and ropes at once will move down due to their own weight.

Besides said lines 27 and pull rod 26, the manoeuvre means for automatically raising and lowering the ropes 23 also includes a power transmission means to actuate the pull rod 26. In the embod-iment shown this consists of a pneumatic cylinder 31 attached on 3~2~6~
g top of the U-profile 25. The cylinder 31 has a piston rod 32 with a downwardly directed arm 33 at its fr~e end. The arm 33 extends through a longitudinal slit in the U-profile 25 and is secured to one end of the rod 26. The arm 33 on the piston rod 32 is provided with wheels 34 to prevent it from breaking the piston rod. The length of the slit in the U-profile 25 is adjusted to the length of the piston stroke. The cylinder 31 may also be arranged to serve a neighbouring group of animals, by connecting pull rod 26 of group G1 to pull rod 26 of group G2 in the same feeding and resting place, for instance.

The manoeuvre means described above thus constitutes part of a pneumatic system which automatically controls the opening of the rear of the stall and which is designed to operate in a flexible manner, i.e. without any damaging forces which might cause injury to equipment and animals should anything impede the movement. In the event of considerable counter-pressure the piston will stop in the cylinder 31 and only continue its movement when the obstacle has been removed. The pneumatic cylinders thus have srnall area and the pressure exerted on the cylinder is therefore easy to set by increasing or decreasing the pressure from the compressor serving the cylinders.

In the embodiment shown the bar sections 9 and 10 are welded to the post. According to another embodiment they are mounted to the post by means of screws. This makes it possible to more-convenient build the stalls in stages, i.e. the forward bar sections are mounted in a first stage and later on the rear bar sections are mounted in a second stage. It is also advantageous to mount the horizontal bars of each bar section in horizontal sleeves of a unit which preferably is screwed onto the post. The horizontal bars are slidable in the sleeves and are fixed together in a de-sired position. This makes it possible to adjust the length of the side stall partition with respect to the length of the cows.

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The stall fittings described above have been developed primarily for stall barns in which the cows eat and rest in one place but are milked in another place. With this system, to save labour it must be possible to open the stalls for a certain number-of cows simultaneously in a simple manner. This is possible with the means according to the invention. Groups of cows are released in a pre-determined sequence with the aid of pneumatic cylinders 31 which are remote-controlled from a central control station 35 in the milking parlor 2. Furthermore, each group of animals must be led to the milking parlor 2 along a predetermined route of a way sys-tem and back to the same stalls along the same or a different route of the way system. For this purpose the way system9 as il-lustrated in Figure 1, comprises a plurality of automatically ad-justable gates 42 to 65, arranged to be controlled by pneumatic cylinders (not shown) via an electrically ac~uated system with magnet valves and pressure switches having lamps to indicate which combination of gates has currently been selected and which group of cows and route have been selected. The groups of cows desig-nû~ed G1 to G16 have individual switches responsible for ensuring that all gates for a selected group are in the correct position to yi~e free passage to the milking parlor 2 without the animals be ing diverted down side paths to the wrong place. The gates are in-dicated by unbroken lines indicating the starting position for each gate and by broken lines indicating the other position~ The gates are hinged on the stall fittings and most of them are inter-connected with the release of a particular group of cows in such a way that when the signal is given to open the stalls for a certain group of animals, a signal will be given simultaneously or shortly thereafter to move the relevant gates to the position indicated in broken lines. All gates can be swung aside to give free passage for personnel along all routes when milking is not in progress, for instance.

All functions for releasing groups of cows and changing the posi-tion of the gates are controlled from said central control station 35 in the milking parlor.

~25~760 The milking parlor is duplicated to allow access for two separate groups of cows simultaneously in two separate milking stalls 36, 37. In this case the milking parlor contains two collection pens 38, 39, located in conjunction with the entry gates 40, 41 to the milking stalls.

The entire system for releasing cows and setting the gates can be controlled by means of a computer. The computer is programmed so that the groups of cows are taken to and from the milking parlor 2 in a predetermined order and is suitably activated by the entry gates 40, 41 to execute a new phase. Each new phase is initiated by releasing the next group of cows in accordance with the prede-termined program. The control process can easily be altered to function even if a smaller number of animals is to be milked.

The system also facilitates releasing animals in groups to exer-~5 cise pens outside the barn. Furthermore it entails increased safe-ty in emergency situations. The building can be vacated more reli-ably and easily in the event of danger such as fire, via the emer-gency exits marked O in Figure 1.

Thanks to the proposed stall construction, each side stall parti-tion having only one connection with the foundation, there is no obstructing equipment by the feeding table or stall floor where dirt traps might form. At the same time a continuous, open, hori-zontal space is formed along the feeding table below the forward bar sections 9 and a continuous, open, horizontal space along the stall floor 5 below the rear bar sections 10. Free communication is thus formed in an advantageous manner between the feeding table and the forward and rear areas of the stall floor, which is divid-ed by the posts 8.

The barriers 23 described are so thin that excretion from the cows does not ~all on them. The cows can thus keep cleaner. The barri-ers 23 do not form rigid connections, but are to a certain extent ~S~7~

flexible due to their hanging attachment and material properties.
They are also movable or twistable at their attachment points.
Tension is therefore considerably reduced, ensuring good function over a very long period of time. If desired, the barriers may con-sist of an elastic material or they may be secured by suitable spring means. Besides the advantages mentioned above, the inven-tion paves the way for highly rational milk production when keep-ing cattle in barns with feeding and resting places where each animal is kept during rest and feeding in a separate stall and taken to a separate milking parlor in the manner described above.
When a new stall barn is to be built, this enables a considerably .educing in the area required for a certain number of dairy cows as compared with a system using non-tied cows in a loose opera-tion. A considerably greater number of dairy cows can be accommo-dated upon a changeover from loose operation to operation in ac-cordance with the present method. The method can be applied in a conventional stall barn if the building is provided with a sepa-r~e milking parlor. It is thus an additional advantage that the method and means according to the invention can be utilized in a simple manner in already existing buildings. It also enables easy use of outdoor exercise pens, allowing the animals to exercise every day. Both the daily walk to and from the milking parlor, usually twice a day, and facilitated exercising of the animals en-tail great advantages with respect to the well-being of the ani-mals, taking into consideration the serious problems arising with animals tied up all the day and often all the year round. In the event of a disaster, such as a fire, the invention enables rapid vacation of the barn, emergency routes of the way system being opened and the animals released in an automatically controlled manner. This can even be initiated by a signal from a suitable fire alarm. Furthermore, the high degree of automization also means that the number of animals in each group can be kept desira-bly small. Milking can be conveniently carried out and the animals can be treated individually with respect to fodder, care and su-pervislonO Another advantage is that the slatted floors along the ~L2 ~ 7~iO

herding routes can be avoided, reducing building costs. It will be understood that when a group of animals is to be released they will immediately react to the noise of the closing means being raised and will start backing out of the opened stalls. This ef-fect cannot be utilized in loose operation systems since the ani-mals are not closed in individually.

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Claims (15)

THAT WHICH IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of keeping cattle in a stall barn having feeding and resting places where each animal is kept during feeding and rest in a separate stall defined by vertical parallel side stall partitions, the animals being free from restraining connections to the feeding table and said partitions and being confined at the rear of the stall by a closing means controlled by power transmis-sions means which lifts it to a level above the standing height of the animals to allow them to back out from their individual stalls and move to a common collecting place, such as a milking parlor and exercising pen, along a predetermined route of a way system, the animals being subsequently returned to their stalls by the same or a different route, and the closing means being returned to confining position behind the animals, said routes being estab-lished and determined by means of a plurality of adjustable gates within said way system, the gates being set in different predeter-mined positions by individual power transmission means, said ani-mals being divided into a plurality of individual groups having a small number of animals in each group, the groups being distrib-uted along said feeding and resting places, said power transmis-sion means for both the closing means and the gates being auto-matically controlled by control means of a common control station, and permitting said control means to actuate the power transmis-sion means for the closing means in a predetermined sequence de-pending on the particular group of animals being selected and at the same time actuate the power transmission means for those gates which are to be set to establish said predetermined route for the group selected when this is to be moved to or from said collecting place so that routes intended for other traffic or for other groups of animals are blocked by the gates.

2. A means for keeping cattle in a stall barn having feeding and resting places where each animal is kept during feeding and rest in a separate stall defined by vertical parallel side stall partitions, said animals being divided into a plurality of indivi-dual groups having a small number of animals in each group, the groups being distributed along said feeding and resting places, said means comprising closing means for confining the animals in their stalls and controlled by power transmissions means, and gates and power transmission means for said gates in order to establish predetermined routes of a way system for the animals to and from a specific collecting place at a distance from said feed-ing and resting places, such as a milking parlor and exercising pen, said closing means being mounted at the rear of the stalls behind each animal within each group, the closing means for each group being arranged to be raised and lowered simultaneously by an individual power transmission means, and a common control station having control means for automatically controlling the power transmission means for said gates and closing means, said control means being mounted to actuate the power transmission means for the closing means in a predetermined sequence depending on the group of animals selected, and at the same time actuating the pow-er transmission means for the gates to be set in order to estab-lish a predetermined route of said way system for the group se-lected, when this is to be moved to or from said collecting place, so that routes of said way system intended for other traffic or for the other groups of animals are blocked by the gates.

3. A means according to claim 2, wherein each of said closing means comprises a barrier in the form of a rope, chain, line, strip or the like, and two sleeves holding the ends of the barrier and being slidable along guide means in the form of vertical bars mounted at the rear end of the two side stall partitions of the stall, said bars for a group of animals supporting a common hori-zontal grooved profile having a pull rod movably mounted therein, said pull rod being connected to each sleeve via a line or the like and being mounted to be moved longitudinally during raising and lowering of the barriers of the group of animals with the aid of said power transmission means, preferably consisting of a pneu-matic cylinder, said means thereby being free of pivotably jour-nalled construction elements for the closing means.

4. A means according to claim 2, wherein each side stall parti-tion comprises a vertical support post as its only connection with the foundation, said post being arranged on the stall floor at some distance from the feeding table, preferably substantially in the middle of the stall floor, said side stall partitions being provided with shoulder supports suitably inclined forwards-down-wards to fit the body of the animal.

5. A means according to claim 4, wherein the attachment point for each of said shoulder supports to the side stall partition is adjustable to allow adjustment of the length of the stall with re-spect to the length of the animal.

6. A means for keeping cattle in a stall barn, comprising feed-ing and resting places where each animal is kept during feeding and rest in a separate stall defined by vertical parallel side stall partitions, forward shoulder supports and rear closing means for confining the animal in its stall, a power transmission means mounted to actuate said closure means to open and close a prede-termined number of adjacent subsequent stalls forming an individu-al group of animals, upwardly directed parallel guide means se-cured to the rear ends of said side stall partitions, a holder displaceably mounted on each guide means for displacement up and down, said closing means for each stall comprises a barrier of flexible material or construction mounted to the two holders and suspended therebetween, all barriers of said predetermined number of stalls are arranged to be raised and lowered simultaneously by operation of said power transmission means causing a corresponding movement of said holders along said guide means.

7. A means according to claim 6, wherein said guide means con-sist of bars the upper ends of which supporting a common horizon-tal grooved profile having a pull rod movably mounted therein, said pull rod being connected to each holder of one and the same group of stalls via a line or the like and being mounted to be moved longitudinally fro and to in order to raise and lower the barriers of said group of stalls by means of said power transmis-sion means.

8. A means according to claim 7, wherein said power transmis-sion means comprises at least a pneumatic cylinder which is rigid-ly mounted on said profile.

9. A means according to claim 6, wherein each barrier consists of an unstretched loose rope, line, strip, chain or the like.

10. A means according to claim 6, wherein said holder consists of a sleeve slidably mounted on said guide means.

11. A means according to claim 6, wherein said barriers are mounted on side stall partitions each of which comprising a verti-cal support post as its only connection with the foundation, said post being arranged on the stall floor substantially in the middle of the stall floor with respect to the feeding table, said side stall partitions supporting shoulder supports, which are inclined forwards-downwards to fit the body of the animal, and being inter-connected by means of a horizontal bar stabilizing the side stall partitions to each other.

12. A means according to claim 6, wherein said barriers of one and the same group of stalls are arranged to be set in a predeter-mined intermediate position in which each barrier is sufficiently high to permit that an animal by slight deflection upwardly of the rope gets access to the stall and sufficiently low to prevent the animal from backing out once in the stall.

13. A means according to claim 12, wherein said power transmis-sion means consists of two pneumatic cylinders arranged to be ac-tuated one after the other between different positions of the bar-riers, said intermediate position being limit for connecting and disconnecting the cylinders.

14. A means according to claim 6, wherein each power transmis-sion means is arranged to be connected and disconnected by means of control means of a control station in the milking parlor.

15. A means according to claim 11, wherein each side stall par-tition comprises forward and rear bar sections having horizontal bars and being adjustably mounted to said post in horizontal sleeves in order to adjust the length of the stall with respect to the length of the animal.