Bob’s Mechanical Cow

Bob’s Mechanical Cow DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS “I dreamed of building something like this for many years ” says Bob Perry Dartmouth Mass who contacted FARM SHOW recently to say he had something we’d never seen before Bob likes teaching young people about milk and dairy products “I had the idea of creating a mechanical cow that would show in an interesting way how many products we get from cows I started building it several times but I couldn’t find a way to power all the moving parts without a lot of expensive motors gear reduction units shafts roller chains and sprockets Then one day last year I was visiting with a mechanic who was changing out a windshield wiper motor and suddenly realized that was exactly what I needed I bought a half dozen of them for about $40 apiece and that’s when my cow first came to life “I used light rope and small pulleys along with wooden parts so I get a rhythmical sound of wood-on-wood that sounds just right This cow could have been put together in the 1950’s or 60’s There are no plastic parts LED lights or electronic stuff on it “Holes in the side of the cow show a beating heart pumping lungs rotating small milk cans rumination with a food mixer corn cobs spinning to show feed intake bottles of milk ice cream cheese butter and “air conditioning” via the wagging tail Each section has moving parts “The cow is 9 ft long and 6 ft high Children and adults flocked around it at a recent fair It was a big success ” You can see a video of the mechanical cow in action at www farmshow com or search it up at YouTube

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