Patent ID: 6520112
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: A01J

Abstract:
A method of automatically milking animals wherein the animals are allowed to move about freely in a milking area and visit a milking compartment which includes a milking robot and an animal identification means, said method comprising dividing said animals into at least two groups whereby the animals of each said group have a common characteristic, at least one of said groups having at least two animals, assigning each animal to be milked in said milking compartment to one of said groups based on said animal having a characteristic which is common to such group, identifying an animal and the group to which said animal has been assigned at a visit of such animal to said milking compartment, and milking such identified animal after at least a predetermined number of milkings of other animals has occurred since said identified animal was last milked wherein said predetermined number of milkings is the same for all animals which have been assigned to the same group as such animal.