Cattle Race - Cattle Race

[106-1222097787]

I am having a 'race' built on Friday and wonder what the optimum width should be for Dexters. Can anybody give me some advice please.

[Rutherford]

It depends on whether you keep long or short, if the latter you need to allow for much greater variation in size.
Beryl (Woodmagic)

[Broomcroft]

My race is 740mm internal width. That leads straight into a crush which measures 690mm internal width. I have put every size of Dexter you can imagine through that race. Big, very pregnant cows are a very tight fit in the crush and young calves can turn around of course, even in the crush but it's not a problem. My senior bull, who is one the upper limits of dexterdom also fit just nicely.



Edited By Broomcroft on 1222241478

[106-1222097787]

Thanks very much everybody!

[Broomcroft]

PS. Just to be clear thinking about it......the 690mm internal width of my crush is VERY tight on a large pregnant cow. In fact I don't put them through and do whatever is needed in the race and then let them out an opening sideways before the crush.

[106-1222097787]

If I made the race 850mm to be on the safe side, surely 100mm (4 inches) extra would not make that much difference? It will be post & rail, so it is not something which can be easily widened at a later date...what do you think?
I will NOT be adding a crush at the end at this stage.

[Broomcroft]

Pass! The 740mm internal dimension is plenty big enough even for the biggest and very pregnant dexter. My race is also not a dexter race it is for ordinary cattle. It's a race built from standard IAE parts. At 850 more things are going to be able to turn around but not the full-sized ones I would imagine? In my race anything they seem to reach the point where turning is not an option. Something at 3-4 months old turn easily. Just ran through a load of 4 months old today and they all turned.



Edited By Broomcroft on 1222272455

[Sylvia]

Is this a race where you are wanting to treat your cattle or just to get them from one part to another? If you are wanting to treat them I would be a bit wary of using post and rail. We have a race leading to a crush, like Clive, it is of very substantial metal construction and can stand cattle trying to jam in alongside each other and also those trying to turn round who put significant strain on the bars.

I strongly recommend that you go and look at one or two races being used before making a post and rail one.

Sylvia

[andy simmons]

I would also consider making a race (815mm) out of cattle hurdles as made by IAE and Batemans. You can vary the configuration, have side gates where you like, connect a crush to it and include a holding pen. It also means you can move it if you need. I have found this system easily strong enough for Dexters.

Andy Simmons

[wagra dexters]

Both our sets of yards and races are post & rail because we live in a timber town. They work well, and any roughness can be sanded off so there are no splinters.

I have worked in metal yards though, and the benefit is having sliding gates along the length, so that cattle waiting in the length of the race can be penned there.

It might be an idea to build your race to fit the width of
the tail gate of a standard jersey crush, in case you want to adapt to one in the future, and that fits a ramp or the tailgate of a trailer. Good Luck.
Margaret.

PS, What are cattle hurdles, how do they work, and what are they made out of?



Edited By wagra dexters on 1222311383

[Broomcroft]

My cattle hurdles are steel like a very high gate, usually 8-10 foot long but instead of hinges and bolts at either end, they just have loops through which you put steel pins, like sheep race hurdles but much bigger. Very flexible. I move mine out into the fields during the summer and erect a race there of sorts.

[Saffy]

We bought a Yearling/Dexter crush.

[106-1222097787]

Thanks everybody for the advice. I will go with the 750mm. I do have some large cattle hurdles which I can use, but again, once in place I can't move them as they are too heavy to lift on my own!

[Sylvia]

Apologies Clive our race is not made up with moveable hurdles it is concreted into the barn so cows can be sent into it from an adjoining pen on either side with a small gate on one side at the end nearest to the crush if we put it there. Now, for almost everything, we use a yoke which is permanently fixed but can be swung aside . It is all very sturdy construction.

[bjreroberts]

Cattle hurdles will now be added to my shopping list, since my 15 month old heiffer has started jumping the stock fence including barbed wire.