Need working facility

[Brute 23]

The 2 7/8 drill pipe that is used in slim hole completions or work strings generally has different collars and is heavier.

Production tubing is what most people are building stuff like pens and panes out of.

Once a well doesn't have the bottom hole pressure to flow up the casing (like 4 1/2) they run a production string (2 3/8, 2 7/8, etc). Smaller ID pipe is easier to flow up because it can't hold the same amount of fluid which suppresses the well and can load it up.

After that when the well won't flow they add some sort of artificial lift to the tubing string like gas lift valves, jet pump, esp, plunger, rod pump, etc.

My family had little shallow gas wells that didn't make much and they had 1 1/2 pipe in them. They called is a velocity string.

The kicker is, tubing strings for wells are costly. It doesn't get changed out for no reason. They get eroded, or rod cut, or dont test, etc. Once pipe is exposed to h2s or co2 it's always imbeded in the pipe. When it's brought to surface and exposed to oxygen it starts to rust. High amounts of water flowed through pipe causes NORM.

You have to know where the tubing is coming from, especially now days. Most of the modern Shale play wells are dirty and not some where you would want tubing from.

 

[GreyGus]

I've had the best luck with nice calm mama cows and a good gentle bull. They produce calves for me that I can move easily by myself. I don't whoop and hollar and go slow n easy. Most times I load em by myself. Cows too. They are always easy going for me. Anything that's stupid left a long time ago.

My pen/loading area is laughable to most folks. My buddy helped a bit last time. He's always amazed. Only guy he knows that pets his animals while loading them.

I took three calves to the market last month. First time I had ever done it myself. I had the calves in a one acre lot. The day before I was going to haul them, I parked my 16 ft stock trailer in there, put a wash tub in the trailer with some grain and left the door open. The three calves walked in by themselves. The next morning I rattled the drain bucket, walked in the trailer and the caves walked right in. I poured the grain in the tub, walked out the side door, to the back of the trailer and closed the door. Let them finish the grain, opened the side door, pulled out the tub, and off we went. Whole process took about ten minutes. I felt a little guilty when they just followed me in like puppies, not knowing where they were going…

 

[Brute 23]

One more thing comes to mind on tubing that I see. I had an uncle who insisted on upgrading every thing to class 3 galvanized tpost clips, galvanized tposts, some special galvanized wire, and maybe even staples. I don't even remember all the nonsense. Then he wanted to use unpainted tubing for corners. That's like washing your hands with soap and then rinsing the soap off with toilet bowl water. You defeated the purpose.

We did not do that.

 

[TNtrout23]

Pretty stoked today. Ended up finding a used great condition powder river squeeze chute for $500. Now just need to patiently wait and find a sweep tub and an alley with a sliding gate and I feel like that's a big big help.

 

[Stonewall Joe]

Pretty stoked today. Ended up finding a used great condition powder river squeeze chute for $500. Now just need to patiently wait and find a sweep tub and an alley with a sliding gate and I feel like that's a big big help.

talk to some of these folks on here about a bud box instead of a sweep, if you work your cattle quietly it works just as well and is a ton cheaper. We just built our pens and after what we spent on the heavy freestnding panels I didn't have a sweep in the budget so I put in a bud box and it's pretty easy to use

 

[RDFF]

Speaking of working facilities... Have any of you seen any built with vertical uprights instead of the typical horizontals between posts? I've never seen any built that way but I've heard there are advantages. I think it was Temple Grandin that suggested cattle are more likely to be calm because upright barriers are more natural... and I was also thinking that an animal is less likely to climb out since they have less to get ahold of. I've seen enough wild ones climb gates. I suppose it would be quite a bit more difficult to build... but I've always wondered.

There are some who suggest that you should NEVER have horizontal bars on your tight quarters handling facilities (alleyways, chutes, and lead ups like "Bud Box" or "sweep", etc.. The reason, so they say, is because if an animal gets it's leg through the horizontal bars, it is far more likely to be hurt/injured. If they're vertical, it can pretty easily pull its leg out again without harm. ....That's what "they" say......................

Be interested to hear what y'alls opinions would be... I know that MOST facilities are built using horizontals.... You'd in general need a more substantial "frame", if using all verticals, to span the length (because all "bowing pressure" would be placed entirely on the top and bottom rail), if tying the panel on the ends.

 

[RDFF]

talk to some of these folks on here about a bud box instead of a sweep, if you work your cattle quietly it works just as well and is a ton cheaper. We just built our pens and after what we spent on the heavy freestnding panels I didn't have a sweep in the budget so I put in a bud box and it's pretty easy to use

I agree with @Stonewall Joe ... I PREFER a Bud Box to a sweep, pretty much any day. But to each his own... Some don't want to be in the pen with the cattle, and if that's you, you're probably going to prefer a sweep. If you're working alot of animals though, I could pretty much guarantee which one will be more efficient... at least if both are set up properly, and the operators are working them both optimally.

 

[Silver]

I like the crowding pen. I don't call it a bud box because I'm not sure it is and even if it's the same somebody named Bud didn't invent it lol. But a good little pen behind a good squeeze alley sets up the conditions where a cow will want to step in rather than being forced.

 

[Brute 23]

I like the crowding pen. I don't call it a bud box because I'm not sure it is and even if it's the same somebody named Bud didn't invent it lol. But a good little pen behind a good squeeze alley sets up the conditions where a cow will want to step in rather than being forced.

I don't use them like the videos show the bud box either. It's easier to describe by saying bud box.

I have had more issue with cows and calves fighting our sweep than the "bud box".

 

[StrojanHerefords]

Its easy to convert a bud box into a sweep. Just mount a gate going into the alley.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I wouldn't trade my Linn tub for anything. I love it. But it's sheeted 6' high. Once the door is closed the cattle naturally flow into the alley. It's the only place they can see.
I work a lot of different kinds of cattle through my facilities. From grass calves and 2,000lb + cows, to yearlings that try to kill you, to big bulls. Everything flows well through my setup, no matter their flight zone or size.

 

[Dave]

My sweep works great. The only problem I have had is when the help wants to put too many cows into it.

 

[GoWyo]

My sweep works great. The only problem I have had is when the help wants to put too many cows into it.

Yup. I always advise 3 at a time and someone has to try 4-5 and will plug it up and have to let them out and retry with 3 almost every time.

 

[Stonewall Joe]

I agree with @Stonewall Joe ... I PREFER a Bud Box to a sweep, pretty much any day. But to each his own... Some don't want to be in the pen with the cattle, and if that's you, you're probably going to prefer a sweep. If you're working alot of animals though, I could pretty much guarantee which one will be more efficient... at least if both are set up properly, and the operators are working them both optimally.

if you're quiet and don't rush, to me the bud box is easy and you don't even have to get in the pen with a lot of cattle to affect movement. I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make with cattle is to not work them quietly through the system with no other requirements than just letting them get comfortable moving through. I understand on huge places with lots of cattle this can be time consuming but for us with less than 40ost of the time and having a good sized facility, attracting them in with a little feed and then letting them eat and slowly sort them and run them through is pretty simple and stress free. We ship all the crazies so most of our cattle are pretty gentle as well. If I'm there I typically move them myself and there's no yelling and hot shots required

 

[Stonewall Joe]

There are some who suggest that you should NEVER have horizontal bars on your tight quarters handling facilities (alleyways, chutes, and lead ups like "Bud Box" or "sweep", etc.. The reason, so they say, is because if an animal gets it's leg through the horizontal bars, it is far more likely to be hurt/injured. If they're vertical, it can pretty easily pull its leg out again without harm. ....That's what "they" say......................

Be interested to hear what y'alls opinions would be... I know that MOST facilities are built using horizontals.... You'd in general need a more substantial "frame", if using all verticals, to span the length (because all "bowing pressure" would be placed entirely on the top and bottom rail), if tying the panel on the ends.

looks like it would be pretty costly to do that

 

[crossbreed]

Ran into a bad situation yesterday. To set the story up, three brothers were partners in some cattle for years. They each owned around 150 acres, shared fence lines, used all of it for a small sample of rotational grazing. They bought some really nice panels, Preifert squeeze chute and had one central set up. Pretty nice deal. One of the brothers died so they decided to dissolve the partnership. Unfortunately, the widow (the person I was helping) was not there when they split the pens. She was left with 18 panels and no gates. She attempted to put together a chute that would load out of a round pen and it was a simple cluster. My son and I (with cows in the pen) started pulling off panels and closing down (and squaring up) the main pen while creating a bud box of sorts on the opposite side. Not having gates made everything a drag gate, I use a bud box at our place so familiar with it for years. Needless to say it changed things tremendously and we had her cows separated and calves loaded out in about 30 minutes after we rearranged the pen. She was amazed and agreed she would go purchase 4 bow gates to turn this into a good working pen. We will be working and hauling her cattle from now on so it will be a blessing.

 

[farmerjan]

Ran into a bad situation yesterday. To set the story up, three brothers were partners in some cattle for years. They each owned around 150 acres, shared fence lines, used all of it for a small sample of rotational grazing. They bought some really nice panels, Preifert squeeze chute and had one central set up. Pretty nice deal. One of the brothers died so they decided to dissolve the partnership. Unfortunately, the widow (the person I was helping) was not there when they split the pens. She was left with 18 panels and no gates. She attempted to put together a chute that would load out of a round pen and it was a simple cluster. My son and I (with cows in the pen) started pulling off panels and closing down (and squaring up) the main pen while creating a bud box of sorts on the opposite side. Not having gates made everything a drag gate, I use a bud box at our place so familiar with it for years. Needless to say it changed things tremendously and we had her cows separated and calves loaded out in about 30 minutes after we rearranged the pen. She was amazed and agreed she would go purchase 4 bow gates to turn this into a good working pen. We will be working and hauling her cattle from now on so it will be a blessing.

Sounds like they screwed her....especially doing it while she was not there.... and bless you and your son for helping her get set up better, and her understanding what is needed to make it work better... and she can say "up yours" to the 2 brother in laws that did that. I have NO patience or tolerance for people like that any more... zero tolerance....