Cattle handling systems

[Saffy]

I am just posting to bring this back to the top.

Sue came to see my system today as she is thinking of building one and didn't know there was a "handling system" thread on here. So I've brought it back up!

Stephanie

[Rob R]

We're still all envious of your handling system - we still haven't got the room for a dedicated handling area and just set it up in the feed passage with the housing pens used as collecting yards. I keep cursing the lack of a dedicated loading space but thinking back a few years we didn't have any handling equipment at all.

[Saffy]

I must be honest Rob...I STILL love it!!!

Stephanie

[Rob R]

I can well believe it - makes everything easier knowing that you can handle animals at any time without any prep.

[bjreroberts]

It would be great. But even with proper hurdles for a mobile setup I find they "migrate" over the year to the farthest corners to patch up damaged fencing etc. When you want to use them it requires several days of fencing repairs to get everything back together again.

[Darachbeg]

I've been following this forum for the past four years. My new cattle handling system has just arrived from IAE. It was inspired by what I've seen on this thread of Stephanie's. Given the coinciding resurrection of this thread I decided to finally join up and share what I've done in case it's of interest to anyone.

Hopefully clicking on this link will bring up a plan drawing of the pens as a pdf:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByJkmN ... dILWc/view

If I attached it as an image it would be too small to make out the details. I'm hoping to set the system up next weekend so eventually there'll be photos which I appreciate most folk find easier to interpret! For the moment, this photo is where the pens will be:



If you open up the attachment, you will see the plan view of a new timber shed and concrete yard containing 9 small (10' x 10') pens between them. The new timber shed is 6.4m wide and has 3x 4.575 bays. The timber posts on the plan are the shed's posts. 6 pens are in the shed across 2 bays and 3 pens are in the concrete yard out front. Crush is at bottom of yard. What I've really done is a over-wintering/calving shed with integrated crush/ squeeze gate. The race is not quite as smart as Stephanie's as there's no fixed race section and not the same access around both sides of the crush. What I've tried to do is get everything based on 9' gate/feed barrier lengths so everything is interchangeable. I haven't ordered every single gate shown on the drawing - I wouldn't have all 9 wee pens at any one time - options for different sizes of pens by removing gates. Metal posts are in sleeves around the shed so that they can be put out of the way to allow more fodder storage etc as required.

I could have gone for hurdles as many others have. I use hurdles in the day job and they are great for mobility (yes possibly too mobile bjreroberts!) but I wanted a system with the options for lots of pens that cows could easily be transferred between. And I think the full height hurdles look a bit odd with dexters behind then! Also shed will hold pigs sheep and yongstock from time to time.

Now that I have everything on site and most of the concrete yard down, it's a bit late to make any major modifications! But feel free to comment on what I should have done differently - the posts are not yet set in concrete!

Henry

[Jac]

Hello Henry, welcome to the site. I look forward to seeing the photos of your buildings when they are complete. Always nice to see folk investing some time and effort into looking after their livestock. If the weather is anything like the way it is here in Wales, an undercover handling system would be a bonus.

[Darachbeg]

If the weather is anything like the way it is here in Wales, an undercover handling system would be a bonus.

We're even wetter here! I'd actually love to out-winter but the experience has been too dark, wet and muddy with our set-up. We can get a lot of the infrastructure costs of shed and pens back as a crofting grant claim so we're going for it while EU funding is still available...