Cattle System - Home Made - First Trial Run
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- Just yesterday we finished enough of our cattle system in order for us to load a truck. Our first sale will be Tuesday 10-29-13. We're excited! ! !
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After this video was published we finished the sliding gate which is in the middle of the long shoot leading down to the road, and we moved the fence line so that livestock would not make their way back to the pasture. Used a pulley and counter weight to make it self-closing.
The next phase of this project is to put in a sorting gate (heavy duty) and a head gate so that we can work on the cattle when needed (AI, Vet checks, Antibiotics, Branding/Tagging, etc...). this addition will return them to the pasture or another holding pen (if we need it).
Total cost (excluding the round-ring panels) was about $1100 as it is seen here. Big chunk of change for a small operation.
Home made? This system looks clean, operative and professional. Congratulations!
Thanks Lino.
Couldn't afford a $2-3k system. Building it myself saved us a lot of money and the cattle sale soon after paid for it all. A few more modifications will be made in the next year or two. Found a few shortcomings when we ran a few sick cattle (calves) through it -- but it worked nonetheless. All fixable.
Loading went SOooooo smooth.
Not seen here is a gate that swings around (all you can see is the hinge in the middle of the screen as the cattle come through). Bulls jumped right on the truck.
Sales were awesome this year. Averaged about $1100/head
Very nice. Systems like this can make or break the operation. If you can't load em you can't sell em. Not sure how these gate panels would hold up to an animal that gets excited, I've lost a few panels myself. Young bulls can be pretty hard on panels. They get their nose under the bottom rail and lift, bend them like paper. Out they go.
Ahh, sweet words of wisdom.
The system has worked great. Cattle are calm and loading has been incredibly easy. Even a few vet checks along the way went well.
Alas....
(There's always one).
We bought a wild cow, 1749 lbs @ auction, spooked when we unloaded her. Stuck her head under the push gate and twisted it like a kids hula-hoop. But the sides held.
Thanks for the comment. A good one!
My pleasure. If you're going to handle cattle that aren't used to trailering you should consider weighting your corners and pressure points. When this system gets really tested it may have issues. The 4x4 pressure treated posts are likely not enough and when 'push comes to shove' they will either break or the ground will give too much and things will get dicey. Cattle have a natural ability to 'rub out' anything they contact. If you have a local concrete company around there, ask them if they make 'rip-rap' blocks. They are very cheap, very heavy and VERY useful. I've never seen anyone else use them on the farm for anything but retaining walls, but I am nothing if not innovative. A 3500 pound block on the other side of the panel of a 2000 pound bull goes a long way in making sure he goes where he's suppose to. It's just basic physics.
+Paul List
The 4x4's are 3 ft deep in concrete -- but I get your point. They may break but each panel is still pinned to one another then bolted to the 4x4. What I feel I need to do now is get a 2x6x10' and bold those at the bottoms of each panel so that they don't/can't get their head under the panel. These panels are pretty flimsy but it was a "Recycle" project from a round ring. I've been looking at the stronger panels "Just in case" I need them in the future. The worst thing that we see happening here is that they'll break out into a small paddock area (You see my wife walking them through it in the video).
I think you're gracefully telling me "Just wait, it's coming " :)
lol -- Yup, I can here you saying it now, "I told you so!" ~Laughing~
Thanks so much Paul. I appreciate you.
David Victor That's a nice looking setup, and the countryside reminds me of North alabama. But If you get some that are a little antsy or half wild, or you just get worried that a particular area might not hold up with the panels and 4x4's all you have to do is cover the panels or sides with some thin sheet metal or tin. I watched a wildlife special on tv once and they were catching and holding wild north American bison in corals made of rope and cloth material that was no thicker than a bed sheet. The narrator stated the bison wouldn't try to break through what they perceived to be a solid wall. Cattle are no different lol
Loading TODAY !!!!
Everyone is set and ready for the auction tomorrow.
Loved the comments. I fear the wood there might not last in the chute though
Evan Branson
Good comment. So far so good. One board did break but it was a faulty board with a knot in the wrong place. Boards are bolted in, took just a few minutes to replace.
If I were to modify this I'd put a gate for the Vet near the headgate and run 4 boards, not 3, in the long shoot to give me a little more protection from a cow kick. This system has been A HUGE help.