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Description: Flushing alleys with water two or three times daily minimizes labor for manure removal from free stall barns. The alley should be flat with curbs to contain the water, and sloped to assist water movement and avoid pooling. Some farms flush when the cows are in the parlor or feeding to avoid exposing them to the flush water. For each flush, water is released in a controlled pulse to create a wave about 150 feet long, 3 inches deep, and moving about 5 feet per second. At the end of the alley, the flushings are pumped or fed by gravity to a system that separates most of the solids and directs the liquid into a lagoon or a holding pond. The solids usually are dried and reused as bedding for free stalls. For barns using saw dust or shavings for bedding, composting the solids reduces bacterial content of the bedding. Liquid from the lagoon is reused for flushings, while semi-solids from the lagoon are used for fertilizing crop land. This manure system requires an ample supply of water, and may be compromised with temperatures below zero F.

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