We have compiled our best estimates of time to complete tasks in both herringbone and parallel parlors. These times include walking time between cows and assume a well-maintained parlor. All times are rounded up to the closest seconds per cow. Times that are plus or minus 2 seconds to these would be considered normal.

Example: The time required in a parallel parlor to enter cows, spray with predip, wipe teats dry and attach units is (4+4+6+10) 24 seconds. If wipe and attach are performed as a single activity then 1-second of walking time can be subtracted. In the example above, the 24 seconds per cow assumes 3 passes by the cow (spray, wipe, and attach). However, if only 2 passes are made (spray and wipe/attach) then the total time per cow would be 23 seconds.

With rapid exit, exit time is a function of parlor size. Smaller parlors (8-12) will see exit times of 5 seconds per cow while larger parlors (> double 25) can see exit times of .5 seconds per cow. This is the basic time to raise the gate and lower it, regardless of number of cows exiting.