I partitioned off the back of the lean-to we built for the cow, for a feed room. Beside the door, I made so the cow could stick her head through into a feed box with an overhead hay rack. The back of the feedbox is slanted up and away, with the hay rack being 2x2's spaced the width of her muzzle slanted from the front top down to the middle of the back of the feedbox. Wish I could draw a picture of it.(posted 9245 days ago)The slanted back makes so that feed doesnt stray too far out front. As a cow eats, she dribbles way out front. The feed she drops falls down and rolls right back where she got it. The hay that falls, naturally falls down to where she can get it without stepping forward.
I can store feed and hay back there next to the feed box. I made it so that I could reach through with the scoop of feed to put it into the feedbox, and get a slice of hay to put into the hay rack, without going through many waste motions. (lol) I load it all from back there, and reach through to clip her chain, and then come out with the milk stool, ready to milk.
She wears a chain around her neck, and a small dog chain clipped into it holds her at milking time. I attached the dog chain to the feedbox frame very closely to where she would naturally be positioned, so she cant move much. It works very well.