Pamper Your Cows With Grooved Rubber Flooring

Pamper Your Cows With Grooved Rubber Flooring DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Dairy Equipment & Ideas 18-5-29 "It reduces ieg and health problems, saves on bedding and makes for easier cleaning," says New York dairyman Bob Gabel who's doing a booming sideline business in grooved rubber flooring for free stall and conventional barns. Gabel buys huge rolls of used industrial rubber belting which is about 1 in. thick. He then runs it through a special machine he developed which cuts it into strips up to 500 ft. long and 4, 5 or 6 ft. wide. The machine also cuts horizontal grooves (1/4 in. deep, 1/2 in. wide and 5 in. apart) on the rubber surface side of the strips. Gabel has also developed a portable machine for in-place grooving of rubber flooring. He says machines designed for grooving concrete won't work on rubber flooring. "The grooves in our rubber flooring serve the same purpose as with grooved concrete ù to reduce leg injuries by providing surer, slip-proof footing," Gabel explains. "Installing the rubber flooring over concrete has a cushioning effect to further reduce leg injuries. We supply a permanent slip-resistant rubber flooring for alleyways and stalls, made up of strips up to 500 ft. long and 6 ft. wide, that won't move or curl up. Because it stays put, we're able to groove it. Commercial rubber mats, on the other hand, don't lend themselves to grooving. They're too small and hard to keep in place." Costs for Gabel's grooved rubber flooring range from $1.50 to $2 per square ft. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bob Gabel, Route 16, Chaffee, New York 14030 (ph 716 496-6025, or 904 669-3566).

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