How to Build a Milking Stall

If you live on a dairy, you likely are providing your family with milk from cows right on the premises. Even if you do not live on a dairy, you may be considering this source of home-grown white stuff, especially given the price of groceries and the state of the economy. Milking a cow requires a bit of bovine knowledge and the construction of a stall to keep the cow standing still during the milking process. Such a stall will allow you to obtain the milk with ease.

Things You'll Need

  • 3 4-by-4 inch posts
  • Cement
  • Wheelbarrow
  • Shovel
  • Water
  • Post hole diggers
  • 4 1-by-6 inch boards no less than 72 inches long
  • Nails
  • Hammer
  • 2 gates with hardware
  • Hook
  • Grain bucket
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose a location in your barn or other structure where the cow can easily enter and exit. This will make it easy to lead the cow out of the barn when the milking is finished. Estimate or measure with a tape measure the length of your cow(s). The cow length will determine the size of the stall. The normal size is around 72 inches long by 48 inches high by 54 inches wide.

    • 2

      Inside the barn, use post hole diggers to dig out two holes at the corners of the stall 54 inches away from barn's exterior wall. (Remember to spot these holes about 72 inches apart.) Dig an additional hole between the two dug-out corner posts. Make sure the holes are about 20 inches in depth. Insert one 4-by-4 inch post in each of the dug-out 20-inch holes. Center each of the three posts in the middle of their respective holes and use a level to make sure they are perfectly upright. Fill the holes with cement mixed in a wheelbarrow according to the manufacturer's directions.

    • 3

      Nail one 1-by-6 inch board from one corner post to the other, at ground level. (You will be attaching your boards from the bottom up.) Use a handsaw to cut one of the 1-by-6 inch boards in half. Use a square to make sure the cut is even. You will be using these side rails (half boards) in such a way that a space will be left where you can reach your hands through to do the milking. Whichever direction the cow will be facing will be the determinant of where the space is to appear. Use the boards to span the space between the middle post and whichever post is the "exit" post. The remaining two boards should be nailed from one corner post to the other. Make sure you have a total of five total side rails in place.

    • 4

      Place a hinged gate onto the front and back posts of the stall so that its free (swinging) end will attach it to the wall of the barn or other structure that is housing the stall. Screw in the hinges according to the manufacturer's directions. The gates will ensure that the cow will be stationary in the stall. Attach a hook to the exit gate at a height of about about 2 feet from the ground. You can attach a hay or grain bucket to the hook so that the cow will be occupied while you are milking her.