TennesseeTuxedo said:Where will you hold the ones waiting to be worked? Can't keep them in the same corral as the chute.
Ebenezer said: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.
Ebenezer said: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.
SBMF 2015 said:Ebenezer said: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.
Sounds better as we go along!Little Joe said:Ebenezer said: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 said:SBMF 2015 said:Ebenezer said: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.
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.SBMF 2015 said:JMJ Farms said:SBMF 2015 said: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?
SBMF 2015 said:JMJ Farms said:SBMF 2015 said: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.SBMF 2015 said:JMJ Farms said:SBMF 2015 said: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?