# Small scale cattle handling solutions?



## curdy (Apr 23, 2010)

Hi everyone, I've only been keeping cattle for about 3 yrs now, so be easy on me. We are just raising them for our table and probably some friends+family. Managing them is becoming a challenge (Will expand below) and I'm looking for advice from others on what they've done to make some budget friendly small scale handling solutions.


Previously we had success getting heifers and a bull into the head locks in the milking parlor for AI and castration respectively. Now we keep the beef cows completely separate and away from the pair of milking cows. While some of the beef cows are much more manageable and can be lead into the barn to the head locks...some we can't and its just a pain. 

I've almost come to the point where I just don't enjoy the beef cows enough to keep doing it, but they really have been doing a great job of cleaning up the neglected farm we bought. So, I'm looking for some ideas (***pictures would be awesome!) One thought I had would be to build a long lane of wooden fences running parallel to each other that the cows would have to walk through each time we opened a new pasture to them. I could put a swingable head gate on either side (do we'd have the option to catch them going either direction. The head gates would be swung out of the way most of the time so the cows would just walk through the lane and be trained not to fear it.


Completely open to ideas here. What are others doing with they need to pole, AI, or castrate their cattle?

Thanks!


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## Gravytrain (Mar 2, 2013)

I'm in sort of the same situation, as I just set up a temporary corral with a central gate swinging to crowd them into a chute. At the end of this chute is another smaller gate that swings one way to let them into the barn or the other way to load them for slaughter. 

I'm tearing down the back lean-to on my barn this year and will incorporate a handling system into it, but this works for the time being. You could just build a headlock into the chute, or split the chute into another lane with a headlock.


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## curdy (Apr 23, 2010)

Got any pictures?

I should clarify too that I would like to ​come up with something that doesn't involve our barn. Reason is that I may very well have to come down at some point so every new project I take on I make the point of not relying on it. The beef cows use the creeks for water and as mentioned before are really doing a nice job with the fields and overgrown areas. 

That doesn't mean I can't use someone's design that uses their barn, it's just something I will have to try to modify to be out in the field somewhere.


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## Le Petit Norman (Apr 28, 2008)

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/cattle/499940-calf-head-catch-pic.html

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/cattle/499485-holding-pen-loading-alley-pics.html

does this help ?


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

Maybe some tube-gates/corral panels, plus a home-made stanchion? They are easy to build and can be made to be dragged around by a stout 4x4, tractor, pickup, VW, etc.


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## Gravytrain (Mar 2, 2013)

curdy said:


> Got any pictures?


I dismantled the corral last fall, but will need to put it back up in a few weeks. Just picture a round corral made up of round pen panels. In the center of that a post with a 12' tube gate that swivels about 270 degrees and reaches the edge of the corral, all the way around. Grain the cattle occasionally in the corral, getting them used to coming in there. Close the corral. Swivel the gate to crowd them over to the chute gate...holding them in a single file in the chute, or crowded just outside of it.

This could easily be put together on pasture.


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## FarmerDavid (Jul 16, 2012)

Gravytrain said:


> I dismantled the corral last fall, but will need to put it back up in a few weeks. Just picture a round corral made up of round pen panels. In the center of that a post with a 12' tube gate that swivels about 270 degrees and reaches the edge of the corral, all the way around. Grain the cattle occasionally in the corral, getting them used to coming in there. Close the corral. Swivel the gate to crowd them over to the chute gate...holding them in a single file in the chute, or crowded just outside of it.
> 
> This could easily be put together on pasture.


I can take some pics of mine if it would help. It's a powder river model I bought last fall at an auction.


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## COWS (Dec 23, 2012)

Two types of working chutes with headgates. One type has the cows stepping on the ground. Other type has a floor for the cows to stand on. I was give a homemade one made from heavy pipe from an old high school goal post. It was designed to have the cows stand one the ground. I modified it to have the cows stand on a floor on the theory that the cows would be struggling against the whole structure and would have to tear it apart to go anywhere, whereas if their feet were on the ground they might be able to pick up the whole thing. In that situation, the headgatesd are usually fastenet to large posts that are deep in the ground.

I also replaced the homemade head gate with a commercial one, a Priefert that is supposed to automatically close when a cow sticks it's head through. Haven't got that to work yet, but haven't really tried. The whole system works fine. I do need to make arrangements to keep cows from backing up in the chute. I also made some spaces from plywood and 2 x 4s to narrow down the chute. Tried pallets but the cows got feet stuck in the cracks. Probably should have nailed plywood to the pallets, but that would have made heavy spacers. A chute with a swinging gate as suggested above is what I have to divert the cows to the head gate.

COWS


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## curdy (Apr 23, 2010)

I spent some time on Priefert's site and got a much better understanding of what I'm sealing with. I think I would probably end up getting a head gate and build the rest.


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## mulemom (Feb 17, 2013)

Curdy-you tube is a good place to go to look at systems too. We found several videos of small homebuilt systems before we started ours. Ours is permanent on old driveway next to water and electric. Can't tell you how it works yet as winter caught us before it was done. Priefert auto/manual headgate mounted on two 6x6 posts 3 1/2 feet in the ground, two hd 8' tube gates-one swings on back post and one on front post so we can use it to squeeze. Still have to finish making latches for those and panels to bolt on the gates for pipe for back stops. Part of the chute is planks on posts the rest is corral panels-we figured the cost of buying lumber and it came out close to the cost of the hd panels. It doesn't look as solid as Topsides but we're going to do like you wrote about-walk them through until they're comfortable before we stop them. Except for digging holes and tamping posts it was actually fun to build. Can't wait to finish and try it out. Good luck with yours-your vet will love you for it. Here's to 'wreckless' operation for all.


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## WildRoots (Nov 24, 2013)

We have headlocks and we feed through them every night, the cows don't mind them at all. As long as they're eating anyway. I have a buddy who put his head locks on and old trailer. He feeds through it out in the fields and can move it through all his pastures. Someday id like a chute, but my headlocks work great for now


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## DJ in WA (Jan 28, 2005)

It sounds like some of your cows are okay. I found that even with good facilities, wilder cows aren't much fun.

I would sell or make hamburger of the difficult ones, then breed your calmer cows to bulls known for docility. Keep the more gentle heifers.

Certain breeds like Limousin were once known for disposition problems, but made great improvement through selective breeding. A lot of genetics involved.


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