LuckyLegs
Active member
So, my new working pen has been complete for about 6months now, and though it works great, I have a hard time trying to get the cows in there. I think, partially because it is all under roof in the barn and much darker than outside. and they hesitate to go in. Currently I lure them in the 12' gate near the chute with feed and use the larger gate to then sweep them into the chute or off the side into the 12' wide alley between the pig pen and feed storage area where I can then load onto the trailer. I am contemplating building a larger outdoor catch pen off of the working pen so that I can more easily lure them in with a little feed. Questions, should the large 16' gate for the new catch pen be where I have it drawn or somewhere else? Also should the catch pen fence be flush with the end of the barn or should I start it even with the working pen entry gate - i.e. move it up 24' from where shown in the pic.? I do not want to make it too big and then still have trouble getting the cows into the working pen. I am trying to use my existing fence-line to create 1 side as well as to kinda act as a funnel to get them into the catch pen. FYI - I will be working about 20 cows at 1 time. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.