Starting Out

[Little Joe]

I bought my 14'x5' bumper pull for $1000 and had to put tires on it a year later. It has the rebar type top on it and a slide gate on back and a cut gate in it. It's old and ain't real pretty but gets the job done. I eventually want a older 16x6 or 14x6 gooseneck pipe trailer but only because I pull mine quite a bit to haul cattle to processor which is 100 mile round trip and I have some pasture they have to be hauled to. If I was not hauling to processor this trailer would be just fine forever.

 

[libertygarden]

I saw on CL a very nice trailer for $2000. New tires, paint job, working lights and breaks, but it was open top. Aside from keeping the sun off the cows in August, is there another purpose for the roof for short hauls under 75 miles? Is there a chance a cow/steer will jump out?

 

[Little Joe]

I saw on CL a very nice trailer for $2000. New tires, paint job, working lights and breaks, but it was open top. Aside from keeping the sun off the cows in August, is there another purpose for the roof for short hauls under 75 miles? Is there a chance a cow/steer will jump out?

I've always been afraid one would jump out of one of those trailers. Mine has a rebar type cage over the top of it that looks to be homemade, a person could put a tarp on it if need be but I never have. One thing I do like about that type of trailer is one that don't like to load is more apt to load in one like that because they don't feel so closed in.

 

[Travlr]

Is there a chance a cow/steer will jump out?

Absolutely... I've had one go over the side, and after that I used a cattle panel bent to cover it and had another that would have jumped out if it hadn't been covered.

Simple to bend a cattle panel and tie it down, and make it safer.

 

[CowboyRam]

My uncle had one tied in the open trailer he has, and she jumped out. She was choking herself and they have to cut the rope. It was a brand new lariat that my uncle had just bought; he was not to happy about his new rope needing to be cut.

 

[4hfarms]

Always had that fear so we purchased an old trailer with a metal roof.

 

[BFE]

On the subject of facilities, there are plans online about building anything you need. You can build a head catch/chute from wood, you have a barn so it would be out of the weather. Most cattle working equipment is very expensive, and justifiable if you have hundreds of animals. For 5-10 head, which is all you can ever reasonably run on your current acreage, homemade cheap is good enough as long as it's built stout. That being said, watch Craigslist, you can find some head gates on there for under $250 occasionally.

 

[libertygarden]

I got an almost new Pfiert auto head gate for $700. I also built a corral pens and alley using 12 coral panels and 2 gates. That was another $1300 delivered. So all in all, for $2000 I have a rudimentary handling facility. I feed cake inside the corral panels and make the cows exit through the alley so that when I have to load or handle, they already used to going through the alley.

 

[greybeard]

Shreveport La:

Cattle Squeeze Chute - farm & garden - by owner - sale - craigslist

Fearson Squeeze Chute. In good working condition.

shreveport.craigslist.org

 

[BFE]

I got an almost new Pfiert auto head gate for $700. I also built a corral pens and alley using 12 coral panels and 2 gates. That was another $1300 delivered. So all in all, for $2000 I have a rudimentary handling facility. I feed cake inside the corral panels and make the cows exit through the alley so that when I have to load or handle, they already used to going through the alley.

Good point. If at all possible have the cattle exit your facilities out of the loadout/working alley, life will be much easier.