Thoughts on this corral/ sweep design?

[Brute 23]

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.

That's a good way to get hurt one day and those cattle all just learned to test gates now. They broke out once and they will try it again.

 

[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.

That's a good way to get hurt one day and those cattle all just learned to test gates now. They broke out once and they will try it again.

I know thats right. So what would you have done in that situation? Beside had a didn't set up all together. We knew it was about to happen they push the one cow over the gate.

 

[Philip-TX]

Well....
#1 all the laughing and screaming...
#2 taking place at the chute (where you want them to move toward)
Didn't you notice the bunched up in the back corner? You should have been back there (minus the vocalizations)

He had the right idea closing down the alley and moving one at a time into the chute.
A chain at the bottom of the alley panel would help close it down. Get the cow in the alley,
pipe behind her so she can't back out.

 

[Brute 23]

What were yall trying to do? I just see a squeeze chute in the video. Were yall just wanting to work them?

Is that a mixture of portable pannels and regular gates?

I dont want to pretend every thing is always perfect when working cattle but there are some thing that stuck out to me.

For one, get all portable pannels than pin together and are taller with proper gates, alley bows, slide gates, etc

I probably would not have tried to crowd them up in that small of an area. Yall had more gates going out the side. Leave the holding area that big.

Your chute area is too wide and too short. Needs to be able to hold at least 2 animals at a time which is usually two pannels. Never single out cattle. Put a chain across the top to help hold them together just narrow enough for the cow to walk. They make actuall alley bows for that.

Get a stick or a flag and learn about cattle flight zones. With a large enough holding area your should have no problem cutting two out and using your stick to keep a little distance as you ease them down the chute side in to the chute. Do not get close enough to kick them. I've seen guys get kicked and go down in crowding pens and almost get trampled. That's the first thing that stuck out to me.

Lastly, put the phone down. Not only were you not helping slide the post in behind the cow when it went the first time you were standing in exactly the wrong spot. It was no coincidence where they broke out. Slide gates are even better but I understand they cost money. When you are using sub par facilities you have to make up the short cumming of the equipment with man power and it takes all hands on deck.

A few more pannels positioned correctly and learning how to move cattle correctly will make that a really pleasant experience vs a nightmare.

 

[SBMF 2015]

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.

That's a good way to get hurt one day and those cattle all just learned to test gates now. They broke out once and they will try it again.

I know thats right. So what would you have done in that situation? Beside had a didn't set up all together. We knew it was about to happen they push the one cow over the gate.

The gates are only half the equation. You didn't have anything to hold them.
We have wood posts in some pastures. The posts stay, the gates go to the next pasture. If that's not an option use steel posts. On real high pressure spots we've parked loader tractors or farm trucks. Round bales, creep feeders, and heavy hay rings have all been used in one pasture or another.
Throw that rope away. 1/4" log chain with a heavy snap top and bottom is what holds our temporary corrals together.
You either need a bow at the end of your alley or a log chain on the ground holding the alley from spreading.

Really supper quiet cows though. My quiet ones wouldn't have stayed in that pen long enough for me to get my phone our and start filming.

 

[Dave]

First of all I am not a big fan of putting a board or bar behind a cow in an alley. But the way Shell's husband was setting it up was a wreck looking for a place to happen. If you do use the board method, ALWAYS do it facing the same direction as the cow. Doing it from the other side if the cow backs up quickly before you have the board all the way across the board will pin you against the side of the alley. I know of several broken legs that occurred this way. I watched a guy get flung head first into a slider gate. It was a couple minutes before he was able to stand. That cow backing up is a whole lot stronger than you and that board gives them leverage which we all know increases power. In Shell's video the configuration only allowed a person to be on the wrong side. The only exception would be to be on the very end of the board which most people wont do.

This picture shows what I mean by a people only area. Obviously this is a work in progress. The alley to the left loads the sweep tub (note the board leaning up, it is just inside the tub). The area to the right in the picture is the people area. When complete there will be no access for cows. But I will have complete access to the chute and be able to walk down along the side of the alley to crowd critters up.