Ideas for calving facility

[backhoeboogie]

Randi we have always called that a medina gate system except you have one fixed. It should work great. When I was a kid ours were more set up like a bull rider's system at a rodeo. Grandaddy never owned a squeeze or head gate. We used nose clamps on the really riley ones which included about 70% of the herd back then,

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Randi we have always called that a medina gate system except you have one fixed. It should work great. When I was a kid ours were more set up like a bull rider's system at a rodeo. Grandaddy never owned a squeeze or head gate. We used nose clamps on the really riley ones which included about 70% of the herd back then,

Done that for years when we had the dairy farm- no more of that for me. We had a lariat and found a close tree. I got to hold the rope and dad had to try to pull calves or give injections- no wonder he never liked cows very much back then.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Done that for years when we had the dairy farm- no more of that for me. We had a lariat and found a close tree. I got to hold the rope and dad had to try to pull calves or give injections- no wonder he never liked cows very much back then.

I was younger then. I have graduated to the manual squeeze chutes.

My old vet friend will use nothing but the best hydraulic units when he is working mass cows. It is much faster and less tiring - for him.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Me too, younger and stupid. We then graduated to a Preifert headgate and now a Powder River squeeze with automatic headgate- you would think I was in cow heaven...

 

[rockridgecattle]

here is a rear view of the pen which is 10x10. The right hand side panel splits length wise with a slider pin. It splits where the bars are close together. When the pannels are secured together, the panel as a whole does not move. Allows access to the udder when split. The panel on my left also splits. The top u shaped clap lifts up and separates the panel

Here you can see the back panel behind the cow. It opens away from the cow. On the back gate's right (unseen) is a man gate.
The panel which is seen along side the cow splits as well. It is also the gate for the front of the pen It allows access for a c section or for the udder. The yellow rope operates the head catch. Can be used at the front or the back.
Along the length of the cow, up near the top is a rod which also operates the catch release incase we need to release the cow quickly.
at the front right near the top is a rod which is about 8 inches long, it also operates the release
The nice thing about the side panel splits is if the cow goes down when pulling a calf, the gate can be openned giving the cow a chance to stretch out while remaining catched at the head.
The panel which you can not see to square up the pen is stationary. Both the front and the back have a tube which acts as a floor bar. It has tabs where lag bolts can be used to secure the pen. We used rail ties and gravel as the base. On the side where we can not see the panel, is our barn. We are hoping to put a roof on the mat pen...someday...We have an alley way in front and behind the pen. It works great to bring the cow up if we need to. The front alley is for the pen infront of the barn for the soon calvers, the alley way in the back is for the cows outside the pen in the feeding area. It is about 150 feet long and set up for a one man operation if necessary. This alleyway also can send the pairs out to the pair area post calving. We also use the pen when we need to cage up a calf to tag and bag when a momma is unpredictable.

not a great shot of the mat pen, but up in the left hand corner you can see the edge of the pen. Behind the cow is the alley way into the calving area. The area is 150 feet by about 40 feet. Services about 5 cows pre calving. We are hoping to expand it bigger this year. The building behind is our barn has 8 pens if necessary, works better with 6 pens.
When calving is getting close maybe i will take some shots of the area as a whole. Gotta wait until hubby plows it out in Feburary

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

We do like Dun - run them in the chute, put a halter on her & back her out, where we can swing the "alleyway" (gate) out of the way. (work chute is in our old barn)
We also built two pens in our new Arch Steel Bldg. The pens are 12 x 14. The front is a 12' gate attached to a 2' head lock. We can catch cow in headlock, swing gate to make a chute - both gates of the chute can be opened completely. We would still put a halter on them & back them out of headlock. Been up for 3 calvings, and I don't think we've used it to pull anything ---- yet. I sure like having the option!
I don't care how good the chute is - I sure believe in giving them their head (with a halter). You are needing them to "help", so I would want them free to move a little. We prefer the cow to remain standing, but you never know when one will go down like a rock.

 

[dun]

When they are in the chute and trying to use a calf jack unless the chute is completely free standing without an alley leading to it things can get pretty intersting. The jack limits your movement and deosn;t really give you much room to manuveur