If you were putting a new floor in a Stock trailer

[Angus Cowman]

I have hauled cattle for yrs and have never had a prob with the cattle panels giving them abcesses or anyother foot problems maybe you need cattle with tougher feet bring them to Mo and let them run on mine and Duns rocky pastures to toughen them up

I would rather see a panel in a trailer than a bare floor or mats because when you get them there they are at least standing up not being walked on by all the other cows

I would say if you have never had any abcesses in all the years you have hauled cattle you are either very lucky or you haven't hauled many cattle. Cattle coming off soft lush pastures then thru a salebarn have a very high incidence of abcesses add to that the irregularity caused by the cattle panel instead of a smooth floor you have a recipe for disaster. Seen it to many times.

As far as hauling ran 3 32' trailers an average of 3 days a weekfor over 5 yrs hauling cattle, at the time we were running around 2500 stockers a yr and I hauled them all in my trailers and never had any foot problems that could be attributed to cattle panels in a trailer
So maybe you are just unlucky

 

[Earl Thigpen]

Treated 2X6's is about all I see. Some folks use 6X6, 6ga corral panel stapled down over the 2X6's to help the cattle keep their footing and there are those that cry that the metal cattle panel hurts the poor babies feet so those folks use the rubber mat. I personally use the corral panel. The rubber mat get slicker than snot when the cattle start pooping all over it. JMO

I just shake from fear everytime I see a trailer with any type of cattle panels stapled to the floor. I have nightmares with visions of never ending toe abscesses. In fact after banding steers it is cattle off lush pastures hauled in trailers with cattle panels stapled to the floors that is my second biggest reason not to buy those cattle. Banded steers hauled in trailers with cattle panels on the floor will never knowingly come onto my farm.

I was gonna come back with some kind of tacky remark like "do you trim their toe nails and curl their eyelashes, too" but I won't. What I described works for me and I'll let it go at that.

Yawl have a good one.

 

[somn]

Quit messing with sale barn cattle and get some better genetics that have good feet and legs

I do love how the great cattle man from outerspace talks about how genetics can cure everything. Even funnier is when you people who think they have superior genetic cattle but when they have there cattle placed into a stressfull feedlot setting they can only sit by and watch there cattle fall apart compared to mogrel cattle with inferior genetics. Would you be willing to let me come to your ranch there in Tennesse and pick up your 50 calves with superior genetics so they can fail miserably in a feedlot?

 

[somn]

I have hauled 1,000's of head over the years.

Thats amazing in a borrowed trailer no less. Does the poor sap you borrowed it from know you nailed cattle panels to the floor and hauled these 1000's of head?

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=52068&p=593848#p593848

You may want to go back to outerspace now.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I rebuilt my little stock trailer a year or so ago.

Had had roughcut oak 2X6 floor for years.

I cut it out and after repairs to trailer put in a new oak floor. I coated twice with linseed oil.
then I put down rubber mats. Mats are not fastened.

I haul horses and cows in same trailer. Horses not problem.

Cows I wash trailer after every use. Periodically pull the mats and wash completely.

Every now and again pull the boards and will recoat with linseed oil.

the horses do well on the mats. would not dream of putting horses on cattle panels.

I agree horses and cattle panels are a disaster

never had a problem with my horses on my cattle trailor. if it was hooked up to my truck and not the horse trailor. but i made sure to turn em around and lead em off,not back em

 

[somn]

As far as hauling ran 3 32' trailers an average of 3 days a weekfor over 5 yrs hauling cattle, at the time we were running around 2500 stockers a yr and I hauled them all in my trailers and never had any foot problems that could be attributed to cattle panels in a trailer
So maybe you are just unlucky

So did your cattle come of lush green pastures or did they come from some of yours and duns rocky pastures there in MO? Huge difference.

 

[Angus Cowman]

As far as hauling ran 3 32' trailers an average of 3 days a weekfor over 5 yrs hauling cattle, at the time we were running around 2500 stockers a yr and I hauled them all in my trailers and never had any foot problems that could be attributed to cattle panels in a trailer
So maybe you are just unlucky

So did your cattle come of lush green pastures or did they come from some of yours and duns rocky pastures there in MO? Huge difference.

we have good pasture in Mo but yes are ground is rockier than yours probably but also brought cattle out of northern Mo and Oklahoma in Oklahoma it was a sandier soil but N Mo was black dirt country

 

[Angus Cowman]

I rebuilt my little stock trailer a year or so ago.

Had had roughcut oak 2X6 floor for years.

I cut it out and after repairs to trailer put in a new oak floor. I coated twice with linseed oil.
then I put down rubber mats. Mats are not fastened.

I haul horses and cows in same trailer. Horses not problem.

Cows I wash trailer after every use. Periodically pull the mats and wash completely.

Every now and again pull the boards and will recoat with linseed oil.

the horses do well on the mats. would not dream of putting horses on cattle panels.

I agree horses and cattle panels are a disaster

never had a problem with my horses on my cattle trailor. if it was hooked up to my truck and not the horse trailor. but i made sure to turn em around and lead em off,not back em

yep it can be done but I prefer not to had a bad exp a couple of times I used to haul my horses on them alot put I got to putting a piece of conveyor belt on top of the panel where the horses were
as for the bad exp I think part of it could have been contributed to the guy who was shoeing them at the time he would leave the heels a little long on the back feet and they would hang under the panel when a horse went to turn around

 

[somn]

we have good pasture in Mo but yes are ground is rockier than yours probably but also brought cattle out of northern Mo and Oklahoma in Oklahoma it was a sandier soil but N Mo was black dirt country

Oklahoma sand cattle have tuff hooves as do kansas and nebraska sand hill cattle buy some cattle out of Montana and washington state or even oregon where lots of rain falls different deal. Now I know nothing of northern MO but if you say it is lush there I guess you have been extremely lucky lameness in the feedlot is a huge problem. Toe abscesses are the leading cause of lameness. I don't care if you fellas who nail cattle panels to the floors of trailers believe me or not it has been proven time and time again in the feedlot. I enjoy coming on this site to help people understand a aspect of the cattle industry that doesn't have much representation here. But I find more and more people are unwilling to learn. A feedlot ain't 50 cows grazing in a pasture. A feedlot is a breeding ground for problems.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I am not disputing what you say maybe cows in your area are more sensitive to foot problems than in ours I am just saying I have never had a problem with it I have ran stocker operations in the sandhills of Neb and cow calf ops in Ok and stockers and cow calf ops in Mo and a long time ago when I was a pup I rode pens in kansas feedlots
All regions are different and have different problems and just because something does or does not work in your region or situation doesn't mean it is the same everywhere Like for instance if we brought you cows to our fescue they would not perform on it or if we brought cows out of Tx to your climate they would not easily adapt to the cold weather So different regions different problems

Have a great day

 

[ALACOWMAN]

we have good pasture in Mo but yes are ground is rockier than yours probably but also brought cattle out of northern Mo and Oklahoma in Oklahoma it was a sandier soil but N Mo was black dirt country

Oklahoma sand cattle have tuff hooves as do kansas and nebraska sand hill cattle buy some cattle out of Montana and washington state or even oregon where lots of rain falls different deal. Now I know nothing of northern MO but if you say it is lush there I guess you have been extremely lucky lameness in the feedlot is a huge problem. Toe abscesses are the leading cause of lameness. I don't care if you fellas who nail cattle panels to the floors of trailers believe me or not it has been proven time and time again in the feedlot. I enjoy coming on this site to help people understand a aspect of the cattle industry that doesn't have much representation here. But I find more and more people are unwilling to learn. A feedlot ain't 50 cows grazing in a pasture. A feedlot is a breeding ground for problems.

and i like reading of other people's situation, you'r argument make's sence. ive seen folks on here arguing across one side of the states too the other ..........and a few over sea's

 

[somn]

All regions are different and have different problems and just because something does or does not work in your region or situation doesn't mean it is the same everywhere Like for instance if we brought you cows to our fescue they would not perform on it or if we brought cows out of Tx to your climate they would not easily adapt to the cold weather So different regions different problems

Have a great day

you are correct different regions have different problems. My point is and you don't seem to understand it is that I buy calves from all regions of America. Their problem is my problem. A combination of Soft hooves and cattle panels nailed to the floors of trailers are a problem regardless of region.

 

[stephenpeter4]

Although pesticides are used to treat lumber, preserving lumber protects natural resources by enabling wood products to last longer. Previous poor practices in industry have left legacies of contaminated ground and water around wood treatment sites in some cases.

 

[Tegerian]

I wonder if you could use good wood and some of the do it yourself roll-on bed-liner to help the cattle have better footing when things get messy, anyone ever tried something like that?

 

[hayrack]

Treated tongue and groove.

 

[George Monk]

rebuilt mine from ground up. Cut the shell of the frame redid the frame and rewelded the shell to the new frame. Replaced the boards with 2x6 treated pine and spaced them around an inch apart to help with manure (works great) and yes I put down a couple cattle panels with lots of fence staples to hold in place. Probably better options but poor folks have poor ways.