I'm 6'1" but I have Herefords. They're pretty gentle.Philip-TX":fh4kfk2a said:x whatever on the load-out
x whatever on the re-route out of squeeze chute
It wouldn't be hard to have a 20x20 lot where the "56post"-etc text is.
That would allow you to keep anything separate and out of the way while working the herd. (i.e. We often have a few feeder/beef calves "in the way" when we need the lots to work calves, or a doctoring project, or pair needing help, etc)
You must be short.We occasionally walk our calves down the alley and those cross members would need to be higher.
New Cow Pens
- Thread starter djswin
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
artesianspringsfarm
Well-known member
djswin":3ay9cl9r said:
When you say reroute, do you mean send back down the chute?
M-5
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2015
- Messages
- 7,338
- Reaction score
- 12
That looks functional to me .
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
I ran a registered herd of Herefords twenty years and one crazy one will put an F1 to shame.djswin":3vh3n8ba said:
artesianspringsfarm
Well-known member
djswin":qczaomuc said:
I'm guessing that most of y'all would've used metal on the barn, too.
That looks real nice. Where are you located? I love a gambrel roof but that wouldnt be enough pitch for here. On your 2.0 fence design, it looks much improved but I think you will want that holding area after the chute to be a little deeper. You are asking a lot of a cow to come out of the squeeze and do an about face to the left within 8-10'. But design looks great to me other than that.
I'm in Chattanooga, TN, my farm is in Chickamauga, GA 22.2 miles from my home. There will be a series of moveable cattle panels re-directing flow in front of the squeeze. I'll make sure that it flows smoothly and eventually I'll build a separate pen onto the front so that cattle leaving the chute can go one of two ways depending on the gate.
greybeard
Well-known member
That's a big holding area, with no divider panels. You might want to partition that off into 2 smaller pens at some point, and try to make use of that inside radius or curve that's already formed by the entrance to the sweep area. Lots easier to move them where you want when a curve is substituted for a sq corner.djswin":8y4aapn0 said:
Cow pens 2.0
Commercialfarmer
Well-known member
I'd be on the metal side as well- maybe next time :lol2: . Pipe would last a life time, and probably kids as well if you plan to pass it down. Two large bulls got to fighting last year and I couldn't get them separated quick enough. They crashed into a couple of pipe gates full force. The chain was pretty thick but busted without moving the fence. I don't think our old tie corral would have held up to the impact.
But the wood sure looks nice.
Just for kicking things around.... a curved alley encourages the most movement out of cattle- they're more likely to play follow the leader without much pushing required. Solid sides also assist movement. (read some Temple Grandin articles)
I've been helping dad build a corral over the last year. Weren't able to make the curved alley really fit what we had to work with. And I don't know if the following would work with the wood over hangs (maybe bolt something into the posts on either side), but we added those drop down bars to prevent them backing up. With those, the straight lane is very functional. Prevents those ones that want to go back and forth a hundred times down the length of the alley before trying the chute or a bunch in the front crushing the last one in the back. Once they go past one of the drop down bars, they're only option is forward. I knew it would make things easier, but I don't think I would have realized how much time and irritation it saved until experiencing it.
Give yourself as many options for gates and extra pens as you can. Just makes life easier.
http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/54 ... latch.html
These latches are kinda nice. You can swing the gate shut while watching what is going on instead of having to look down for a chain or latch mechanism. It catches real quick and solid, then with a finger you move the lever and the gate is free to open.
But the wood sure looks nice.
Just for kicking things around.... a curved alley encourages the most movement out of cattle- they're more likely to play follow the leader without much pushing required. Solid sides also assist movement. (read some Temple Grandin articles)
I've been helping dad build a corral over the last year. Weren't able to make the curved alley really fit what we had to work with. And I don't know if the following would work with the wood over hangs (maybe bolt something into the posts on either side), but we added those drop down bars to prevent them backing up. With those, the straight lane is very functional. Prevents those ones that want to go back and forth a hundred times down the length of the alley before trying the chute or a bunch in the front crushing the last one in the back. Once they go past one of the drop down bars, they're only option is forward. I knew it would make things easier, but I don't think I would have realized how much time and irritation it saved until experiencing it.
Give yourself as many options for gates and extra pens as you can. Just makes life easier.
http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/54 ... latch.html
These latches are kinda nice. You can swing the gate shut while watching what is going on instead of having to look down for a chain or latch mechanism. It catches real quick and solid, then with a finger you move the lever and the gate is free to open.
Gunner
Well-known member
I would suggest a gate into the catch pen from the outside. Otherwise you will have to carry medicine, ear tags, all the way around or climb the fence to get what you need.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Amen saves a many a step.Gunner":qzd5prsa said:
X10 on metal CF only way to go one and done.
Mine is the improvement of a plan years of this sucks and incorporating good ideas on other peoples pens. Even incorporated drive through drop off like the sale barn I buy through the year really makes it easy to hold in the pens until ready to move to the lot to pasture.
Have it where one old man can do it all the best improvement was the tailgate push them in the chute and they are automatically caught.
1982vett
Well-known member
Don't think your load out will ever work.....well maybe if you can pull them through on a lead rope....djswin":2guji50c said:Tell me what I'm doing wrong before I break ground. Any advice will be appreciated.
It should look very similar to this one in Florida when it's finished.
Also looks kind of small unless you have more infrastructure to move them through to these pens.
greybeard
Well-known member
He posted a different and alternative layout on page 2. The loadout should work much much better with this one.1982vett":17ozisqw said:Don't think your load out will ever work.....well maybe if you can pull them through on a lead rope....djswin":17ozisqw said:Tell me what I'm doing wrong before I break ground. Any advice will be appreciated.
pen2.0
http://postimg.org/image/42ihnfy5d/
1982vett
Well-known member
Yeah. I saw that this morning.....along with the gate to the catchpen. I'm also thinking I don't like the gate in the corner where you will have crowding pressure getting them to the sweep gate. Putting it by the shed will give you that shorter walk. Then you will have a strong corner heading to the sweep gate. I think I would even put boards across that to eliminate the inside corner.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
I think the tail gate is the most important in the chute as well.1982vett":19lu2wqj said:
Palpating gate is a must have as well in my book.
littletom
Well-known member
I built ours last year found a lot of must haves over years. All this is in my opinion so take with grain of salt. You are going to need more room in your box around your chute, when you got one down and your pulling a calf with the sides of chute open 4 feet is not enough. In front of my chute I have a gate straight in front and one each side, the right side goes back in with the others, the front goes into a big pen, the left goes into another set of pens. It is good to have options when you open the head gate with out turning back by your chute for safety. Example you are culling or preg. checking and one needs to go to town not out or in with the weaned calves. Make sure you have water close by. Another thing to consider is who ever will be preg. checking is which hand they use. My wife does ours with her left hand. So we set it up to do most stuff from the right side. Think of every possible thing you may encounter and plan for it. Be cheaper now than redoing later.
hurleyjd
Well-known member
Move the 25 foot angle fenced and twelve foot gate to be in line with the ten foot gate at the holding pen for the squeeze to create a twelve foot wide alley. The opening as you show is too wide and the cattle can get by you. This change will give you a twelve foot wide alley along the edge of the fence and can be used for sorting if need be. Also either of the two twelve foot gate will close it off. Also you can back a trailer where the twelve gate is and load out there. That is if you have a trailer that is about twelve wide with the swinging gate. The twelve foot wide gate can be use to crowd the cows into the trailer.
