There,s some good info here.
http://www.grandin.com/inc/cattlecorrals.html
http://www.grandin.com/inc/cattlecorrals.html
Cattle Corrals & Layout
- Thread starter curtis
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Texas PaPaw
Well-known member
Saltydawg
Well-known member
Those are both pretty good links...thanks 
.
.denoginnizer
Well-known member
Texas PaPaw":zk3i4ngv said:
Has anyone tried to order the package. Seems like I tried 6 or so months ago and the guy said he was out of the business. just curious if anyone had tried recently?
DiamondSCattleCo
Well-known member
Good links. Just wanted to add my own thoughts to the following bad design:
The 'improved design' on the single file chute really isn't all that improved. When I was building my tub, I screwed up and built a 180 degree tub with the chute coming off 90 degrees, almost exactly like the improved design. The animals will spin at the chute entry as they come off the outside of the tub turning right and when they hit the 'dead end' they tend to want to continue spinning right.
A much better design that would fit in nearly the same space is a 90 degree tub with the chute flowing off the outside edge of the tub radius. The cattle walk along the outside edge of the tub and straight into the chute without having to turn left.
Rod
The 'improved design' on the single file chute really isn't all that improved. When I was building my tub, I screwed up and built a 180 degree tub with the chute coming off 90 degrees, almost exactly like the improved design. The animals will spin at the chute entry as they come off the outside of the tub turning right and when they hit the 'dead end' they tend to want to continue spinning right.
A much better design that would fit in nearly the same space is a 90 degree tub with the chute flowing off the outside edge of the tub radius. The cattle walk along the outside edge of the tub and straight into the chute without having to turn left.
Rod
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
Makes sence another thing i would want would be to have the chute were i could turn the cow back into the pen or let her out. that design looks like the cow see's more wall when you sweep her up to the alley. could make for a dangerous situation looks like it needs more funnel as they come to the dead end
DiamondSCattleCo
Well-known member
I thought I'd toss up a quick drawing of my current corral system that evolved over the past few years, just in case someone wanted ideas. Its not to scale.
With this system, two guys can easily vaccinate (3 different shots) and ivomec 30 animals/hr. If all you're doing is sorting, 2 guys can easily sort 80 - 100 animals/hr. Its also very cheap to build.
The chute is long enough to accomodate 4 adults easily, 5 if you stuff them in. I've got a sliding gate behind the squeeze, and two small man gates (not drawn) on either side, so I've got a sort of palp cage (the squeeze also has a back gate on it). As the animals come out the chute, you can easily sort them into pen 1, 2, or 5. From 5, you can sort into pen 2, 3 or 4.
Normal flow of the animals is from pen 3, through 5 and into 1 for holding. Or from 2, through 5 and into 1 for holding.
To get an idea of size, pen 1 can accomodate 50 adults, but its tight. 40 fit nicely.
There are a couple issues with this rigging. As I mentioned, the cattle will spin right at 6, versus turning left into the chute. Every now and again one of us will have to get into the tub to get them spinning left and down the chute. Occasionally an idiot will barrel out of the chute and get stuck at the right angle corner at 7, even if there are open gates. And the gate at 8, when swung open, forms a right angle corner in the alley. This is likely the most dangerous part of the system. You can easily get 6 or 7 animals "stuck" in there.
A few minor improvements would make this system much nicer:
Eliminate the right angle at 7. Increase the length of the gate at 8 so you no longer have a right angle entry into the alley, but rather a nice smooth angle for the animals to flow along. Increase the size of pen 1, and move the chute over so you have a 90 degree tub. I'd also think about getting rid of the square corners (with no gates) in pens 2 and 3.
My pen 2 is a little too big for 1 person to easily herd animals out of. I use either horse or 4 wheeler to keep them moving into Pen 5 or directly into the alley. Pen 3 is 20 feet wide, and about 200 feet long. Its perfect for one guy to push animals out of, so I try to keep the herd in there, and break off 30 or 40 animals to push into the holding pen.
When I get a chance, I'll post the new system that I'm building. Its based on a pie plate, and I think will work well for a single man.
Designing a working corral system isn't rocket science. Avoid 90 degree corners, unless you plan on putting a gate there. And don't put a gate midway down the fenceline and expect cattle to herd through it. Its not going to happen.
Rod
With this system, two guys can easily vaccinate (3 different shots) and ivomec 30 animals/hr. If all you're doing is sorting, 2 guys can easily sort 80 - 100 animals/hr. Its also very cheap to build.
The chute is long enough to accomodate 4 adults easily, 5 if you stuff them in. I've got a sliding gate behind the squeeze, and two small man gates (not drawn) on either side, so I've got a sort of palp cage (the squeeze also has a back gate on it). As the animals come out the chute, you can easily sort them into pen 1, 2, or 5. From 5, you can sort into pen 2, 3 or 4.
Normal flow of the animals is from pen 3, through 5 and into 1 for holding. Or from 2, through 5 and into 1 for holding.
To get an idea of size, pen 1 can accomodate 50 adults, but its tight. 40 fit nicely.
There are a couple issues with this rigging. As I mentioned, the cattle will spin right at 6, versus turning left into the chute. Every now and again one of us will have to get into the tub to get them spinning left and down the chute. Occasionally an idiot will barrel out of the chute and get stuck at the right angle corner at 7, even if there are open gates. And the gate at 8, when swung open, forms a right angle corner in the alley. This is likely the most dangerous part of the system. You can easily get 6 or 7 animals "stuck" in there.
A few minor improvements would make this system much nicer:
Eliminate the right angle at 7. Increase the length of the gate at 8 so you no longer have a right angle entry into the alley, but rather a nice smooth angle for the animals to flow along. Increase the size of pen 1, and move the chute over so you have a 90 degree tub. I'd also think about getting rid of the square corners (with no gates) in pens 2 and 3.
My pen 2 is a little too big for 1 person to easily herd animals out of. I use either horse or 4 wheeler to keep them moving into Pen 5 or directly into the alley. Pen 3 is 20 feet wide, and about 200 feet long. Its perfect for one guy to push animals out of, so I try to keep the herd in there, and break off 30 or 40 animals to push into the holding pen.
When I get a chance, I'll post the new system that I'm building. Its based on a pie plate, and I think will work well for a single man.
Designing a working corral system isn't rocket science. Avoid 90 degree corners, unless you plan on putting a gate there. And don't put a gate midway down the fenceline and expect cattle to herd through it. Its not going to happen.
Rod
Texas PaPaw
Well-known member
When I get a chance, I'll post the new system that I'm building. Its based on a pie plate, and I think will work well for a single man.
Rod[/quote]
Rod
Looking forward to your new system. Was thinking of a circular system also. Need to be able to sort & work cattle by myself.
Please keep us posted.
Regards
Brock
Rod[/quote]
Rod
Looking forward to your new system. Was thinking of a circular system also. Need to be able to sort & work cattle by myself.
Please keep us posted.
Regards
Brock
DiamondSCattleCo
Well-known member
This is a drawing from Hi-hog of a round handling system. Its pretty good, but I don't like the squeeze/chute exit. If the cow decides she isn't going back into the sorting hub, she could end up down in the working area beside the chute. I also don't like that you can't move animals from holding pen to holding pen without going through the sorting hub.
DiamondSCattleCo
Well-known member
This is a rough idea of the system I'll be building. Its base on the hi-hog system, only I squared out the outside edges so I could put gates between the holding pens. It also fits better with my barn plans (the barn will be somewhere in the bottom) and my wide alley that comes from the wintering pens (alley not pictured, but its at the top of the diagram).
The only thing I'm not real happy about is the abundance of square corners. I think I'll put double oversized gates in between each pen corner. When closed, they'll be on an angle, cutting down the right corner, but when open, they'll be in a corner for ease of getting the animal through the gate.
Rod
The only thing I'm not real happy about is the abundance of square corners. I think I'll put double oversized gates in between each pen corner. When closed, they'll be on an angle, cutting down the right corner, but when open, they'll be in a corner for ease of getting the animal through the gate.
Rod
Texas PaPaw
Well-known member
Rod
Thanks for posting these diagrams. Looks like what I may be looking for.
Good luck & best wishes.
Brock
Thanks for posting these diagrams. Looks like what I may be looking for.
Good luck & best wishes.
Brock
DiamondSCattleCo
Well-known member
Texas PaPaw":26pyrucn said:
Glad to help. I think either system would work well for a single person. I think the rigging I designed will work a _hair_ better for one man, since the holding pens are a little narrower, and a little longer. I think the longer alley would be nicer too. With the dimensions I have in mind, I'll be able to stick at least 60 head into the alley.
About the only thing I may change is that smaller holding pen to the left of the squeeze. Right now, its more square than wedge shaped, so I think I may straighten that bottom fenceline out and make it a wedge. I'll lose some pen space, but the funnel works better for getting animals into the sorting hub.
Rod
