Solid Panels for Handling Facility?

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Stocker Steve

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For an inside shed system - - I have tried used pegboard tied to gates and panels. This worked fine for a while but the cattle busted them up eventurally.

I am now building an outside system, and need to make some gates look solid w/o adding a lot of weight. Is there anything better than 1/4" exterior plywood for this?
 
If you're talking about wood, use 1/2 osb (oriented strand board). It will last the longest of any wood product.

If using metal, how about some used tin or something?
 
Stocker Steve":od51je6n said:
For an inside shed system - - I have tried used pegboard tied to gates and panels. This worked fine for a while but the cattle busted them up eventurally.

I am now building an outside system, and need to make some gates look solid w/o adding a lot of weight. Is there anything better than 1/4" exterior plywood for this?
conveyor belting works good
 
grannysoo":3llwiniz said:
If you're talking about wood, use 1/2 osb (oriented strand board). It will last the longest of any wood product.

If using metal, how about some used tin or something?

If you get much wet weather, OSB will only last a couple of years. Outside glue plywood (CDX) will last for many years.
 
Angus Cowman":3c4hojk4 said:
Stocker Steve":3c4hojk4 said:
For an inside shed system - - I have tried used pegboard tied to gates and panels. This worked fine for a while but the cattle busted them up eventurally.

I am now building an outside system, and need to make some gates look solid w/o adding a lot of weight. Is there anything better than 1/4" exterior plywood for this?
conveyor belting works good
I hope so. I've got a huge roll of used belting I picked up for nothing at a coal mine a while back just for that use. ;-) They have it laying around everywhere. They aren't allowed to bury it anymore.
 
Stocker Steve":3nlytlfu said:
For an inside shed system - - I have tried used pegboard tied to gates and panels. This worked fine for a while but the cattle busted them up eventurally.

I am now building an outside system, and need to make some gates look solid w/o adding a lot of weight. Is there anything better than 1/4" exterior plywood for this?

Oops, never mind - missed the solid part of the original post. :oops:
 
I would be careful not to use anything which might give off reflections if the sun is in a certain spot. I went to a lumber yard and asked if they had any damaged plywood. They had a whole stack. I took all of the lighter mostly 1/4" for 10 bucks I think or something in that range.

I don't know if it was CDX or whatever. For the price I'll replace it in a few years as needed. I've never really seen my cattle push on the plywood at all. It's just a visual barrier so they can't see through the gates aand then stay calmer.

I rolled exterior tan-ish colored flat house paint on at least one side and then used 12 ga fence brace wire thru drilled holes to wire it to the gates and twisted the wire together around the gate pipes on the back side. If I had more time before needing them up the first time I would have rolled on a couple coats of house paint on both sides and the edges.

Most paint stores have some gallons of mis-mixed house paint they will sell you for quite a bit off to get rid of it. The cattle don't really care if it all matches! Just lighter color, flat/non glossy, no reflection works well. jmho. Jim.
 
Part of mine has plastic from an old above ground pool a neighbor was throwing away. Some of the other has rubber mat scaps I got cheap about a 1/4" thick.
 
Weld the wire cattle panels to the posts and/or rails. They are only $16 for 16 footers. Much cheaper than wood and they'll last much longer. All you really have to do is wire them to T posts on 8 foot centers. You can move them later or rearrange them.
 
backhoeboogie":1edtgvx1 said:
Weld the wire cattle panels to the posts and/or rails. They are only $16 for 16 footers. Much cheaper than wood and they'll last much longer. All you really have to do is wire them to T posts on 8 foot centers. You can move them later or rearrange them.

That's all we use for catch pens on rented farms, except our t-posts are on 16' centers. Any cow/calf out there can bust thru them if they want, if one tries then they leave on short order.
 
cfpinz":3rmsbsn0 said:
backhoeboogie":3rmsbsn0 said:
Weld the wire cattle panels to the posts and/or rails. They are only $16 for 16 footers. Much cheaper than wood and they'll last much longer. All you really have to do is wire them to T posts on 8 foot centers. You can move them later or rearrange them.

That's all we use for catch pens on rented farms, except our t-posts are on 16' centers. Any cow/calf out there can bust thru them if they want, if one tries then they leave on short order.

Wire cattle panels hardly quilify as being solid panels.
 
dun":1y6bsekk said:
cfpinz":1y6bsekk said:
backhoeboogie":1y6bsekk said:
Weld the wire cattle panels to the posts and/or rails. They are only $16 for 16 footers. Much cheaper than wood and they'll last much longer. All you really have to do is wire them to T posts on 8 foot centers. You can move them later or rearrange them.

That's all we use for catch pens on rented farms, except our t-posts are on 16' centers. Any cow/calf out there can bust thru them if they want, if one tries then they leave on short order.

Wire cattle panels hardly quilify as being solid panels.

If it is the vision thing, throw a tarp over them with the silver side to the cows. Fold it up when you are done.
 
I like the tarp idea. Heavy duty gates with plywood on them get a bit heavy.
I have tried the cattle panel approach. It did not work well with stockers but it mght be OK with wf cows.
 
Stocker Steve":dwdt32f0 said:
I like the tarp idea. Heavy duty gates with plywood on them get a bit heavy.
I have tried the cattle panel approach. It did not work well with stockers but it mght be OK with wf cows.

We used tarps on the alleyway and "crowding tub" with the stockers, and they were much quieter than without.
 

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