Thoughts on this corral/ sweep design?

[Little Joe]

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Where will you hold the ones waiting to be worked? Can't keep them in the same corral as the chute.

 

[Little Joe]

Where will you hold the ones waiting to be worked? Can't keep them in the same corral as the chute.

In the corral beside the alley leading to the squeeze, as of right now I only have 5 cow/ calf pairs and a bull so don't need much space. It will all be portable panels so I can add on or move around as needed.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Gotcha. That should work then.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Looks good. I would think about using 2 gates at the back of the chute. A narrow one for people and a longer one when you are moving cattle. You will get tired of having to open a long gate every time you need to walk along the alley to move cattle forward to the chute.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I've worked in a setup like that. Best setup for a sweep there is. Makes loading much safer. Only thing I would change is I wouldn't want the cows in the same pen as the chute. When they come out of the chute I want to get them out of my way. Some have a little bit of attitude after they come out. Maybe one more holding pen after they come out?

 

[Ebenezer]

If the sweep area to load is small enough and stout enough with multiple gate stops it is doable. But otherwise you are risking getting hurt by an animal or the gate coming back on you. Anything over 8 or 10' can get interesting. And I do not want the chute in the pen without a side where there is not cow involvement. The ultimate loadout for safety is out of a single file chute end directly into the slide gate of the trailer.

 

[littletom]

I like options when come out of chute. Where we work most of our cows . Can go 3 ways if needed from chute. You may be weaning, culling opens, various things.

 

[SBMF 2015]

If the sweep area to load is small enough and stout enough with multiple gate stops it is doable. But otherwise you are risking getting hurt by an animal or the gate coming back on you. Anything over 8 or 10' can get interesting. And I do not want the chute in the pen without a side where there is not cow involvement. The ultimate loadout for safety is out of a single file chute end directly into the slide gate of the trailer.

I agree, I prefer loading single file. But I know of more than 1 farmer or trucker who has taken a ride in a helicopter or a coroner's car because the cattle turned around and came back off the trailer before the slide could be shut.
We load fat cattle through a crowd tub, down a single file curved alley,and up a ramp on a semi. It takes 3 people to make it go really smooth. I load with the whole door on the goose neck. By myself. Both can have problems.

 

[Brute 23]

I would make my alley long enough to hold all 5 no problem and I would put a cut gate at the end where you load out straight ahead, cut in to the pen to the right, and squeeze them to the left.

Every time I worked one I would run the whole group thru that away they stay together and never know which way they are going. You could even leave the trailer parked on the end all the time if you wanted.

 

[Little Joe]

If the sweep area to load is small enough and stout enough with multiple gate stops it is doable. But otherwise you are risking getting hurt by an animal or the gate coming back on you. Anything over 8 or 10' can get interesting. And I do not want the chute in the pen without a side where there is not cow involvement. The ultimate loadout for safety is out of a single file chute end directly into the slide gate of the trailer.

The sweep gate would only be 10' and will have 4 latch points as it sweeps.

 

[JMJ Farms]

If the sweep area to load is small enough and stout enough with multiple gate stops it is doable. But otherwise you are risking getting hurt by an animal or the gate coming back on you. Anything over 8 or 10' can get interesting. And I do not want the chute in the pen without a side where there is not cow involvement. The ultimate loadout for safety is out of a single file chute end directly into the slide gate of the trailer.

I agree, I prefer loading single file. But I know of more than 1 farmer or trucker who has taken a ride in a helicopter or a coroner's car because the cattle turned around and came back off the trailer before the slide could be shut.
We load fat cattle through a crowd tub, down a single file curved alley,and up a ramp on a semi. It takes 3 people to make it go really smooth. I load with the whole door on the goose neck. By myself. Both can have problems.

I still mostly load through the head gate or squeeze, just because I haven't got many options. Have a friend that has a sweep setup just like the diagram in the first post. The beauty of it is that you open the outside gate (far top left of diagram) and then back the trailer up to the sweep gate. That way when you load the sweep it will close directly against the back of the trailer and lock. They can't come off and you can close the trailer gates (if they're butterfly gates) from behind the sweep gate. No way to get hurt. I've always said loading cattle is, in my opinion, the most dangerous aspect of handling them.

*This post mainly pertains to butterfly gates on a gooseneck which is what most of us around here have. If you have a swinging or sliding gate then I can see where single file would be better.

 

[Ebenezer]

If the sweep area to load is small enough and stout enough with multiple gate stops it is doable. But otherwise you are risking getting hurt by an animal or the gate coming back on you. Anything over 8 or 10' can get interesting. And I do not want the chute in the pen without a side where there is not cow involvement. The ultimate loadout for safety is out of a single file chute end directly into the slide gate of the trailer.

The sweep gate would only be 10' and will have 4 latch points as it sweeps.

Sounds better as we go along!

 

[SBMF 2015]

If the sweep area to load is small enough and stout enough with multiple gate stops it is doable. But otherwise you are risking getting hurt by an animal or the gate coming back on you. Anything over 8 or 10' can get interesting. And I do not want the chute in the pen without a side where there is not cow involvement. The ultimate loadout for safety is out of a single file chute end directly into the slide gate of the trailer.

I agree, I prefer loading single file. But I know of more than 1 farmer or trucker who has taken a ride in a helicopter or a coroner's car because the cattle turned around and came back off the trailer before the slide could be shut.
We load fat cattle through a crowd tub, down a single file curved alley,and up a ramp on a semi. It takes 3 people to make it go really smooth. I load with the whole door on the goose neck. By myself. Both can have problems.

I still mostly load through the head gate or squeeze, just because I haven't got many options. Have a friend that has a sweep setup just like the diagram in the first post. The beauty of it is that you open the outside gate (far top left of diagram) and then back the trailer up to the sweep gate. That way when you load the sweep it will close directly against the back of the trailer and lock. They can't come off and you can close the trailer gates (if they're butterfly gates) from behind the sweep gate. No way to get hurt. I've always said loading cattle is, in my opinion, the most dangerous aspect of handling them.

*This post mainly pertains to butterfly gates on a gooseneck which is what most of us around here have. If you have a swinging or sliding gate then I can see where single file would be better.

I've never been around a trailer with butterfly doors. But I've never understood how one person could load/crowd cattle with them? What is supposed to be the advantage of them?

 

[bulldog04]

I would want a smaller load out gate and just use the slide gate on the stock trailer

 

[BFE]

I agree, I prefer loading single file. But I know of more than 1 farmer or trucker who has taken a ride in a helicopter or a coroner's car because the cattle turned around and came back off the trailer before the slide could be shut.
We load fat cattle through a crowd tub, down a single file curved alley,and up a ramp on a semi. It takes 3 people to make it go really smooth. I load with the whole door on the goose neck. By myself. Both can have problems.

I still mostly load through the head gate or squeeze, just because I haven't got many options. Have a friend that has a sweep setup just like the diagram in the first post. The beauty of it is that you open the outside gate (far top left of diagram) and then back the trailer up to the sweep gate. That way when you load the sweep it will close directly against the back of the trailer and lock. They can't come off and you can close the trailer gates (if they're butterfly gates) from behind the sweep gate. No way to get hurt. I've always said loading cattle is, in my opinion, the most dangerous aspect of handling them.

*This post mainly pertains to butterfly gates on a gooseneck which is what most of us around here have. If you have a swinging or sliding gate then I can see where single file would be better.

I've never been around a trailer with butterfly doors. But I've never understood how one person could load/crowd cattle with them? What is supposed to be the advantage of them?

Having used both, I'll take the swing gate with a slide built in. Best of both worlds. My cousin has this style, my trailer has butterfly. His trailer gate is more versatile.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I agree, I prefer loading single file. But I know of more than 1 farmer or trucker who has taken a ride in a helicopter or a coroner's car because the cattle turned around and came back off the trailer before the slide could be shut.
We load fat cattle through a crowd tub, down a single file curved alley,and up a ramp on a semi. It takes 3 people to make it go really smooth. I load with the whole door on the goose neck. By myself. Both can have problems.

I still mostly load through the head gate or squeeze, just because I haven't got many options. Have a friend that has a sweep setup just like the diagram in the first post. The beauty of it is that you open the outside gate (far top left of diagram) and then back the trailer up to the sweep gate. That way when you load the sweep it will close directly against the back of the trailer and lock. They can't come off and you can close the trailer gates (if they're butterfly gates) from behind the sweep gate. No way to get hurt. I've always said loading cattle is, in my opinion, the most dangerous aspect of handling them.

*This post mainly pertains to butterfly gates on a gooseneck which is what most of us around here have. If you have a swinging or sliding gate then I can see where single file would be better.

I've never been around a trailer with butterfly doors. But I've never understood how one person could load/crowd cattle with them? What is supposed to be the advantage of them?

I don't know that it's necessarily an advantage but they do allow you to swing the gates in or out. And you have the option to use one or both. A lot of times we used to open both gates and straight load yearlings without cutting them. If loading out of a barn door like we used to do, it's easier to get the calves to go in a six foot wide hole than a 3 foot hole. I guess it mostly depends on the situation and the setup. Also, they don't hang up or bind like sliding gates sometimes do. I've used all different kinds. It really just depends. They all work.

 

[Ebenezer]

I agree, I prefer loading single file. But I know of more than 1 farmer or trucker who has taken a ride in a helicopter or a coroner's car because the cattle turned around and came back off the trailer before the slide could be shut.
We load fat cattle through a crowd tub, down a single file curved alley,and up a ramp on a semi. It takes 3 people to make it go really smooth. I load with the whole door on the goose neck. By myself. Both can have problems.

I still mostly load through the head gate or squeeze, just because I haven't got many options. Have a friend that has a sweep setup just like the diagram in the first post. The beauty of it is that you open the outside gate (far top left of diagram) and then back the trailer up to the sweep gate. That way when you load the sweep it will close directly against the back of the trailer and lock. They can't come off and you can close the trailer gates (if they're butterfly gates) from behind the sweep gate. No way to get hurt. I've always said loading cattle is, in my opinion, the most dangerous aspect of handling them.

*This post mainly pertains to butterfly gates on a gooseneck which is what most of us around here have. If you have a swinging or sliding gate then I can see where single file would be better.

I've never been around a trailer with butterfly doors. But I've never understood how one person could load/crowd cattle with them? What is supposed to be the advantage of them?

They open against the walls, posts or fence to get all in the trailer without an escape plan for the smart ones. Swinging the full width gate shut with a trailer full is not the dream job at times, either. If in doubt I load through the chute and the half width slide gate. Safety: some times I tie a rope on the top and pull without reaching in. That is more when I'm doing one at a time. Otherwise it is a load-all and then shut right behind the last one. And I do load from an 8' opening at times but it has more drama or wait time usually.

 

[Dave]

I like having one side of the alley and chute being a people only area. Keeps critters from walking on or spilling the vaccines etc. Tame or wild, cows will come through your working area and cause issues.

 

[Chevy]

https://youtu.be/DahU__Djj_4

Well not this!! until now it did get the job done. We needed something temporary that could be moved fields. I laughed husband was ticked. Sometimes all you can do is laugh.