Slider or whole door?

[SBMF 2015]

I've been rebuilding everything at the place we bought a year ago. I've got the feed lot and working setup pretty much how I want it. I'm struggling a little with the load out/ unload. In the NW corner of the big cattle barn is a small 12'x24' room. Its got a 5' slide door to access the rest of the barn and a 3' slide door to the circle drive. I had a couple corral panels set up in kind of a V shape temporary to that 3' door and wide enough to open the whole trailer door to load/ unload.
Got a chance to get some guard rail and I'll cut some hedge posts to make a permit load out. But I'm wondering if it would be better to make a narrow ally and load with the slide door on the trailer. We have one pasture with permanent corrales it has a single file load out that works really good, but we never unload there. Unloading through the slider can be a pain.
What's every bodies thoughts? Would single file be better or make them funnel through the barn door?

Thanks.

 

[GoWyo]

Seems it depends on how well your cows load. I prefer a full width loadout about 10-12 feet deep, but my cows load pretty well. Definitely easier for unloading. If I was dealing with new cattle all the time, a tub, alley and single file loading might be preferable.

 

[Buck Randall]

I think single file is hands-down the way to go if you're loading fats. Cows can go either way depending on your animals.

 

[Dave]

I hate to unload out the slider. Some times they don't like to get out with the full door open. Going out the slider you have to have one with its head in the right place to even see that the door is open. Virtually everyone around here does full width. Most also have a crowd gate to push them up into the trailer if needed.

 

[bird dog]

I use full width also. To often two try to go through the narrow passage at the same time and gum up the whole operation.

 

[Ebenezer]

If you work by yourself, loading single file is safer for me that being in a pen or trying to move a group to load at the back of a trailer. I don't know your cattle or setup but if you only have one option, I'd go with a slider. To be a hypocrite - I still have both options and use both. Safety and speed go with single file and me on the outside merely waiting on the last one through to slide the gate closed.

 

[simme]

Seems like the single file route works well with a longer approach. Get them into a single file alley with some length to it and they follow the one in front. Seems like a short transition does not work as well.

 

[midTN_Brangusman]

I have a loading chute like this. Works great with a 20 ft alley. I also have a separate loadout i use with the full swing door for unloading or if loading a big bull since the turn is pretty sharp for a 2000 plus lb bull. I vote for the slider for loading. It is safe, your not in with the cattle and they pretty much load themselves.

 

[Larzbarz]

Is there another spot that you could use as a full door unload? Everywhere that we have permanent infrastructure has single file loadouts, but we never unload through them. There's always another gate around to unload through. A little inconvenient if you're unloading and then reloading, because you have to move the trailer, but that doesn't happen all that often.

My preference is always the single file load out, but if you have to unload through the load out it may very well not be worth it.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Is there another spot that you could use as a full door unload? Everywhere that we have permanent infrastructure has single file loadouts, but we never unload through them. There's always another gate around to unload through. A little inconvenient if you're unloading and then reloading, because you have to move the trailer, but that doesn't happen all that often.

My preference is always the single file load out, but if you have to unload through the load out it may very well not be worth it.

I could unload on the north side of the barn right next to the door I'm thinking about using. It would work to unload, the problem is that the the door on the north side of the barn is in the middle of the wall. Pretty hard to crowd cattle out of barn through that door.
I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow.

 

[gcreekrch]

Single file to load, full door to unload.

 

[Lucky_P]

"Single file to load, full door to unload."

Agree. That's how we've always done it.
Ever notice how a mob of cattle always want to go at least one cow abreast wider than the available gateway...?