Cattle handling systems

[Rob R]

I was just wondering what set ups others have for gathering/handling their cattle? We've always used 12 & 15ft field gates, tied together but we've just borrowed a set of 10ft hurdles & a shedding gate, which has made sorting & loading far easier, so I'm trying to design my 'ideal' (but realistic in terms of £) pen system, while I wait for the trailer to return. Has anyone got any tips?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I work with an assortment of the high hurdles, 6, 8 and 10ft long, bought when I put up a shed for winter housing. One mistake I made was that a shed 20ft x 30ft is not that size inside, so two ten foot gates do not fit across it. Silly mistake. But the variety of sizes make it easy to have a big variety of layout depending on what is in the shed. I move them about different grazings too, along with an IAE Dexter crush bought off ebay. The ten foot hurdles are a bit heavy for comfort if you are single handed though, made worse by puting in and extra rail at the bottom so I can have sheep and lambs in too. The maker recommended the extra rail rather than weldmesh which is what I asked for because he thought the weldmesh would not standup to cattle being housed in them.It scares me to think these are all over 10 years old now but they are good as new and will last longer than me!

Duncan

[goldshaft dexters]

Rob
Before you do anything get yourself a copy of Temple Grandin's book Humane Livestock Handling. This has HEAPS of information including yard designs etc.
Andrea

[Jac]

I just call mine and they wait outside their individual pens until I let them in. If I need to do anything with them I put a halter on them and lead them into a trailer or crush. Smallholder's cows.....

[Broomcroft]

Just been on a days "Temple Grandin" type source run by Eblex. I wouldn't build anything until I'd been on such a course, or read a book maybe. We've got a simple system and it works very well, but having been on the course I need to blank off some gates with plastic sheeting from Wynnstay.

For me, the secret is that the cattle (or sheep) when going through the race are going back to where they want to be. To load, I put my trailer in the race by pulling two hurdles off sideways, and they will just walk onto the trailer looking how to get out the other end to get back to their mates/pen.

[Rob R]

Just been on a days "Temple Grandin" type source run by Eblex.

Yes, I've been asked to host one of those by EBLEX, sometime in the future, after going on another one about grassland & sheep. I've read a few papers by Temple Grandin over the years. We've decided to go for something portable that can be set up in the yard if need be, or altered to suit the terrain and added to as the herd expands/contracts. The 'handling system' in the yard will just consist of a number of holding pens & a loading bay, with space for the portable system to be set up if need be.

Yesterday we were able to set the whole pen up in the next field, curving round to the right & they all went in first time. Then, being portable, we were able to alter it into two smaller pens to make a secure 'loading bay', without needing as many extra hurdles. The only issue was that we'd used two 15 gates to back it up, against the hedge, and one cow managed to jump the gate & hedge get into the adjacent barley field while I was waiting for the trailer to return for the last load of the night, at about 10pm.

Before trying one out though I didn't realised just how useful the drafting gate would be & would probably have tried to get by without it. Thanks Duncan for your opinion - this is IAE & although it's brand new, it looks like it'll last, like most of their stuff.

[Saffy]

This is my ideal system - so far, I have always wanted a gate that swings around 180 degrees to bring the cattle into the race like this one does, it also doubles then as the side of the race and can be bolted at a slightly wider angle to accommodate a very heavily in calf cow that maybe can't go down the rest of the race and through the crush but so far they have all been able to get through.

Where we have put the pens the gate of the yard opens most of the way across the farm road, a hurdle or two are required as well.

There is a gate that shuts at the end of the race to stop the next cow beating up the one in the crush, or more importantly anyone trying to do anything with the cow and a small pen to the side of the crush to put things like the gas for the de horning, or sometimes we put the calves in there if they are getting a beating on the yard from other cows. Also I can stand in there operate the crush and take tag numbers without fear of getting squashed!

The green shed is their winter quarters, the door is at the far end of the photo, the penning and race works very well, as we can pen things apart when we want to.







I realise it is probably more fancy than you were thinking Rob R but you may still get ideas from having a look.

Stephanie

[Rob R]

I think it looks very professional, certainly a good height - of course you need it with Dexters!

I took a few pictures of ours the other night, but haven't had time to post them yet, will try and do that tomorrow.

[Jac]

certainly a good height - of course you need it with Dexters!

Comments like that worry me Rob.

[Saffy]

Well Rob it was suggested that I didn't need the top bar and mine are quite well handled but you never know do you!!! One day there is bound to be the one that doesn't fancy staying in my little handling system and waiting patiently to meet the nice vet! Even the quiet ones have given me the occasional shock and anyway I attempt to look as if everything as under control when the vet etc are there, of course the dexters don't always allow that!

I forgot to say the little door that bolts across the race also opens to allow access behind the crush, it is open behind the crush and bolted behind in the one pic.

Stephanie

[Jac]

Quite right Saffy - you do have to take sensible precautions. However, I do have concerns regarding the reputation of the Dexter. The number of people that have told me that they have bought wild ones and would never buy another Dexter it does make me wonder ..... still I suppose you get what you pay for.

[Rob R]

I don't mean to suggest that they are wild, merely that they can jump when provoked, which might well be the case when they are being weaned or, or loaded. Limousins have the worst reputation for being wild though, and it hasn't done their numbers any harm. I should also add that we don't have or intend to have a crush for our Dexters. It was bourne out of necessity, but we've never needed one. Our vet is always pleasantly suprised every time he does our TB test - I think he forgets between each one how Dexters can be.

[Rob R]

I think it looks very professional, certainly a good height - of course you need it with Dexters!

I took a few pictures of ours the other night, but haven't had time to post them yet, will try and do that tomorrow.

Here we are;



The field gate that they came from it to the rear right of the picture, with the 'loading bay' in position on the near right. Of course the configurations are infinitely variable but at the moment I am considering a race gate and short race section for replacing eartags/ weighing animals and possibly a 'gate in frame' to make the loading pen more secure, although I think I'd prefer two four foot gates rather than one 8ft.

[domsmith]

I dont know how you would manage without a crush!!

We have just done export Tb testing for 12 yearling and it would have been impossible without a crush.

but the bulls at the last herd tb test were all done loose in the pens, including an angus bull.

i have just sold an Angus cow because she wouldnt fit in either of my crushes she topped the scales just short of 900kg

dom

[Rob R]

Just revisiting this thread, to look at Stephanie's pictures again, when I saw this comment;

I should also add that we don't have or intend to have a crush for our Dexters.

Six months after saying that and we ended up buying one, so I thought I'd update our progress! We're now designing a permanent race on the farm to incorporate the crush, similar to the way Stephanie has, along with the removeable weigh platform in the race, preceding the crush, with a gate to either side of the race so that the cows don't have to go through the crush for weighing and can be drafted off into two separate pens, at either side of the crush, or into a third pen in front of it if they do go through the crush.

The rest of the layout will be similar, but not identical, to this picture from IAE;


The difference being that the rear wall of the cattle building will form the left hand wall and the far end of the holding pens will also serve as a loading bay. Alternatively the cattle will be able to enter/exit from/to the adjacent cattle building to the left, or fields to the right. I'm also considering another entrance/exit at the near left curved end, as the end of the curved pen will be flush with the end of the building, so the left hand holding pen entrance won't be possible, and then cattle can be loaded directly into a waiting trailer, rather than having to pen up the animals before reversing the trailer into position.

I'm hoping it'll make weighing & loading animals quicker and easier, but don't want to be too hasty as I haven't got a fortune to spend on it & ideally want it to last me to retirement!