Stable Cleaning with BOBMAN
Make daily barn cleaning faster and easier with BOBMAN—designed for efficient cleaning and maintenance of cubicles in modern cattle farms.
What customers say
"Before BOBMAN, the stalls had to be scraped by hand. Today, BOBMAN Super saves about 40 minutes a day on more than 620 cleaning/bedding cycles for the stalls."
"We used to scrape the stalls by hand and carry around a 15-kg bucket of lime. With the BOBMAN SL, we can clean and lime 100 stalls in about three minutes."
"After three years with BOBMAN, I can't imagine going back to the old way."
What can a stable cleaning machine help with?
A barn cleaning machine can handle several of the daily tasks involved in cleaning and maintaining the stalls. With BOBMAN, you can reduce manual labor and combine multiple tasks, making your rounds through the barn more efficient.
Keep the stalls free of manure, old bedding, and other debris as part of your daily stall maintenance routine. A BOBMAN barn cleaning machine allows you to work systematically through the barn and prepare the stalls for lime application, disinfection, and fresh bedding.
Scraping out the stalls can be both time-consuming and physically demanding when done manually. With a BOBMAN, scraping can be incorporated into the routine walk through the barn, reducing the need to go from stall to stall with a manual scraper in the dairy barn.
The rotating broom allows you to sweep the edges and areas around the stalls, removing dirt and debris more effectively. Sweeping can be combined with other tasks and helps ensure more consistent cleaning of the stalls.
Lime and appropriate disinfectants can be applied in the stalls as part of the daily routine. This makes it easier to achieve even distribution and helps keep the lying areas dry and maintain good barn hygiene.
Once the stall has been cleaned, fresh bedding can be spread directly into the stall. Depending on the BOBMAN model, different types of bedding material can be handled, so that cleaning and bedding can be combined rather than performed as separate tasks.
Good barn hygiene requires consistent routines and ongoing maintenance of the bedding areas. By combining multiple tasks into a single barn-cleaning machine, it becomes easier to establish a consistent routine that focuses on clean and dry resting areas, comfort, and less manual labor.
Effective Barn Cleaning in Daily Operations
Cleaning the barn is a regular part of daily life on a dairy farm. The cubicles must be kept clean, manure and old bedding must be removed, and the resting areas must be regularly treated with lime, disinfected, and refilled with fresh bedding. These are tasks that must be repeated over and over again, and on a farm with many cubicles, they can quickly take up both time and labor.
Traditionally, the work can consist of several separate steps and a large amount of manual labor. First, the floor must be scraped; then it must be swept and cleaned; and finally, lime or disinfectant must be spread, and new bedding must be laid out. This means making many trips through the barn and spending many hours on the same routine tasks.
Sweep, scrape, disinfect, and sprinkle—all in one step
This is precisely where BOBMAN differs from a traditional barn cleaning machine. BOBMAN is designed to combine several of the tasks associated with the cubicles, so that sweeping, scraping, disinfecting, and bedding can be performed in a single pass—depending on the model and equipment.
Instead of treating cleaning, maintenance, and bedding as separate tasks, the daily walk through the barn can thus be used to accomplish several things at once. This reduces the need for manual labor and makes it possible to establish a more efficient and consistent routine for cleaning the stalls.
The result isn’t just a faster way to clean. It’s about organizing daily barn cleaning more efficiently, so that fewer work steps can accomplish more tasks—and so that time spent in the barn can be used where it creates the most value.
Which BOBMAN is right for your barn?
The need for barn cleaning varies from farm to farm. The size and layout of the barn, the number of stalls, the type of bedding, and the tasks you want to combine all influence your choice of machine.
Several BOBMAN models can combine cleaning and bedding application, while the options for, for example, scrapers, brooms, and disinfectant dispensers vary by model. Therefore, it’s a good idea to start by considering the specific workflow in your barn.
Not sure which BOBMAN is right for your barn?
| Model | Good for | Features Focused on Barn Cleaning |
|---|---|---|
| BOBMAN Super | Compact solution for daily bedside care | A scraper is standard, while a hydraulic scraper, rotating broom, and disinfectant dispenser are available as options. A flexible solution when cleaning and spreading need to be combined. |
| BOBMAN Frontload | Barn cleaning combined with self-loading bedding handling | Can scrape and sweep while cleaning the stalls and spread fresh bedding at the same time. The self-loading feature reduces the need for separate refilling. |
| BOBMAN Multiload | A flexible solution for cleaning and handling heavier materials | Can be equipped with a scraper to combine scraping and spreading in a single pass. This is particularly useful when working with heavier spreading materials. |
| Most Complete BOBMAN Selfload | Larger farms with many cubicles and a focus on an integrated workflow | It can combine scraping, sweeping, and sanding in a single operation. The model can also be equipped with a disinfectant dispenser and a hydraulic scraper, and it is self-loading. |
| BOBMAN Powerlead | Larger farms and heavier bedding materials | Can be equipped with a scraper and a hydraulically rotating broom for cleaning cubicles and slats, and can also be used for subsequent bedding application. |
The right BOBMAN depends, among other things, on the layout of the barn, herd size, bedding material, and which parts of the daily barn cleaning routine you want to combine into a single work cycle.
Cleaning of bed stalls with less manual labor
Cleaning pig pens often involves several small tasks that must be repeated from pen to pen. Manure and old bedding must be removed, the edges must be cleaned, and lime or disinfectant and new bedding must be spread. On a farm with many cubicles, the many repetitions can quickly become both time-consuming and physically demanding.
With BOBMAN, several of these tasks can be combined into a single pass through the barn. Depending on the model and equipment, scraping, sweeping, disinfection, and bedding application can be combined into a single operation, reducing the need for manual and separate operations.
The difference in the workflow can be illustrated quite simply:
Before BOBMAN
With BOBMAN
Depending on the model and equipment, several of the tasks involved in cleaning and preparing the stalls can be combined into a single operation.
From Multiple Tasks to a Single Workflow
With a BOBMAN, several steps in the cleaning of the stalls can be combined into a single operation. Instead of scraping, sweeping, disinfecting, and spreading bedding in multiple passes, the work can be done in a single trip through the barn. This makes daily barn cleaning more efficient, reduces manual labor, and frees up time for other tasks on the farm.
Remove manure, old bedding, and other debris from the stalls. Scraping helps prepare the lying area for subsequent cleaning and fresh bedding.
Sweep the edges of the stalls and remove any debris left behind after scraping. The rotating broom allows you to get close to the stall and incorporate cleaning as a natural part of the workflow.
Spread lime or a suitable disinfectant throughout the stall. A more even distribution makes it easier to maintain dry lying areas and good barn hygiene in a systematic manner.
Finish by spreading fresh bedding in the cleaned stalls. This way, the stall is left clean, dry, and ready for the cow without the bedding necessarily having to be handled as a separate task.
BOBMAN for Daily Barn Cleaning
Effective barn cleaning is a recurring task on every cattle farm. The stalls must be kept clean and dry; old bedding and manure must be removed; and new bedding or lime must be spread. On larger farms, the daily cleaning of stalls can therefore quickly become both time-consuming and physically demanding.
A BOBMAN barn cleaning machine is designed to combine several of these tasks into a single operation and reduce the need for manual labor. But how much of a difference can it really make in practice? Below, we’ve compiled specific experiences from two dairy farmers in Ireland who use BOBMAN as part of their daily barn cleaning routine.
The figures show the difference before and after BOBMAN.
Experiences from the barn
| From 2.5 hours to 40 minutes. | 100 sleeping berths in about 3 minutes | |
|---|---|---|
| The Farm | 400 dairy cows and more than 310 cubicles | 190+ dairy cows |
| The Assignment | More than 310 stalls are cleaned and bedded twice a day—for a total of 620 stalls | Cleaning and liming of cubicles as part of the daily barn routine |
| Before BOBMAN | The work on the 620 bed stalls took about 2.5 hours a day | The bedding areas were scraped by hand, and lime was spread manually from a 15-kg lime bucket |
| With BOBMAN | The work takes about 40 minutes, including loading and driving between the barns | About 100 cubicles are cleaned and whitewashed in about 3 minutes with BOBMAN |
| Farmer | Elaine & Kevin Keaveny , County Meath, Ireland | Senan Glynn , County Galway, Ireland |
The information comes from articles in the Irish Farmers Journal about the experiences of the farms in question with BOBMAN.
The experiences described above are drawn from reports on BOBMAN and the dairy farmers who use the machines in their daily operations. Over the years, both Danish and international trade publications have written about BOBMAN—including topics such as barn cleaning, time savings, product development, and solutions for modern cattle farming.
We've put together a selection of articles and features if you'd like to read more about BOBMAN and the experiences of the farms.
Stable cleaning and bedding go hand in hand
Proper barn cleaning doesn’t stop once the stall has been scraped and swept. Once manure, old bedding, and other debris have been removed, the stall must be prepared again with a clean, dry layer of bedding. Cleaning and bedding are therefore two closely related parts of daily stall care.
The bedding helps create a dry and comfortable resting area for the cow, while regular cleaning helps keep the stall free of accumulated dirt and moisture. It’s therefore not just about cleaning, but about establishing a consistent routine in which the stalls are regularly cleaned, maintained, and bedded.
Cleaning and spreading in a single operation
That is precisely why several BOBMAN models have been designed to combine the tasks of cleaning stalls and spreading bedding. Instead of first going through the barn with a scraper and other tools and then having to go back to spread fresh bedding, several of these tasks can be completed in a single pass through the barn.
This can reduce the number of work steps and the need for manual labor. At the same time, it becomes easier to establish a consistent and uniform routine for the cubicles—even on larger cattle farms, where many cubicles must be tended to every single day.
The Right Bedding for Each Farm
Needs are not necessarily the same from one barn to another. The choice of bedding material depends, among other things, on the barn layout, the sleeping stalls, and the farm’s existing routines. Depending on the BOBMAN model, different types of bedding can be handled, so it is important to choose a machine that is suitable for both the material and the way the work is performed.
While this page focuses on barn cleaning and the overall workflow related to the bedding stalls, you can learn more on our page about bedding machines—including the bedding process itself, various BOBMAN models, and ways to streamline bedding tasks.
Long lifetime
Here at Jydeland Maskinfabrik, we focus on making power tools that are not only efficient and improve workflows, but are also durable for the next 10 years. When you buy BOBMAN, you buy quality.
Quality of service
To maintain our high level of quality, we always bring the best partners in the market to the table. Together, we constantly reassess our current situation in order to deliver the best possible product.
Dealer network
We have dealers in 34 different countries, ensuring that you're always in safe hands when you buy a BOBMAN power tool. Due to the wide dealer network, we are able to meet the needs of our customers wherever they are in the world.
Are you ready to make cleaning the barn easier for yourself?
Contact your nearest BOBMAN dealer to discuss your options, or book a demonstration to see BOBMAN in action.
Frequently Asked Questions About Barn Cleaning
There can be significant differences in how daily barn cleaning is handled from farm to farm.
Here we’ve compiled answers to some of the questions we frequently receive about cleaning stalls, bedding, and using BOBMAN to streamline work in the barn.
A barn cleaning machine helps automate some of the tasks that would otherwise be performed manually in the barn. With a BOBMAN, multiple functions related to the cubicles can be combined so that, depending on the model and equipment, you can, among other things, scrape, sweep, disinfect, and spread bedding in a single pass through the barn.
BOBMAN is designed for routine work around the bedding stalls. Among other things, the machine can be used to remove manure and old bedding, sweep along the bedding stall, and then spread lime, disinfectant, or new bedding. The specific capabilities depend on the model and equipment selected.
Yes. Several BOBMAN models can combine cleaning and bedding application, allowing multiple tasks to be completed in a single pass through the barn. This reduces the number of separate work cycles. If you’d like to learn more about the bedding application process and the various solutions available, you can read more about BOBMAN bedding machines.
Yes, several BOBMAN models can be equipped with a dispenser for lime or a suitable disinfectant. This makes it possible to combine this aspect of stall cleaning with other tasks. The options vary by model, so the choice of machine and equipment should be based on the specific barn and workflow.
It depends, among other things, on the number of cubicles, the layout of the barn, and the current work method. On an Irish farm with more than 310 cubicles, the time required to clean and bed down 620 cubicles per day was reduced from about 2.5 hours to approximately 40 minutes using BOBMAN. However, the actual time savings will vary from farm to farm.
It depends on the size and layout of the barn, the bedding material, and which tasks you want to combine. Models such as the BOBMAN Super, Frontload, Multiload, Selfload and Powerlead offer various options for tasks such as scraping, sweeping, bedding, and disinfection. Therefore, we recommend choosing a model based on the workflow at each individual farm rather than solely on the size of the herd.
The need depends on the conditions and routines at each individual farm. The most important thing is to have a consistent routine in which manure, moisture, and soiled bedding are removed on a regular basis, and the cubicles are kept clean and dry. BOBMAN is designed to make these recurring tasks easier to integrate into daily barn operations.
Clean and dry cubicles are an important part of overall barn hygiene and provide the cows with a clean and comfortable resting area. Maintaining the cubicles should therefore be considered part of the farm’s overall hygiene routine. You can also read more about the connection between barn hygiene and efforts to reduce somatic cell counts.