we haven’t tried that approach but it makes a lot of sense, starting from the routing area sounds like a calmer setup for them to get used to everything without the pressure of the full barn around them.

Did you notice if that made a difference in how quickly they started visiting on their own later? I’m curious how long it typically took for them to make the connection

An idea could be if you have an routing area you could train these cows from the routing area. There is less stress in the learning phase.

Hey, great question! When we first started with the Astronaut, a few things really helped: getting them comfortable with the robot is key. We walked them to the robot several times a day at first, give it a few weeks for both cows and people to adjust, Horizon gives great insights to catch issues early, we found that less obstruction and a clear route to and from the robot made a big difference, their support during startup was honestly invaluable.

Anyone else have tips for getting shy cows used to the robot faster?

HI Kevin, can you explain me how you do this? How do you start training a week before?

We have found having the cows on training for a week before start up has made the actual start up days far more easy.