Cattle handling facilities

What would lads think of using a mobile crush as your main handling facilities? I had put in a new pen and posts and a new skulling gate for a crush but hadn’t it finished yet. Anyway, a man brought a trailer to put lights on and had a bit of a mishap while here and caught the gate, bending it badly and stirring the rsjs it was bolted to. Long story short, I’ll have to pull up the posts to set them again, and replace the gate. I’m just wondering if there would be any major advantages/disadvantages between the mobile crush sitting on a concrete pad with brackets holding it to the rest of the race/pen and one with gates/bars and posts set in concrete?
https://www.donedeal.ie/view/30364381
 
ZetorMan98 said:
What would lads think of using a mobile crush as your main handling facilities? I had put in a new pen and posts and a new skulling gate for a crush but hadn’t it finished yet. Anyway, a man brought a trailer to put lights on and had a bit of a mishap while here and caught the gate, bending it badly and stirring the rsjs it was bolted to. Long story short, I’ll have to pull up the posts to set them again, and replace the gate. I’m just wondering if there would be any major advantages/disadvantages between the mobile crush sitting on a concrete pad with brackets holding it to the rest of the race/pen and one with gates/bars and posts set in concrete?
https://www.donedeal.ie/view/30364381
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I'm thinking to go down that route myself, as it allows moving things around as I develop the yard a bit more.
 
candor said:
I'm thinking to go down that route myself, as it allows moving things around as I develop the yard a bit more.
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I can’t see any disadvantages with them really and like that, being able to move it around would be very handy at times to allow more space in the yard.
 
ZetorMan98 said:
I can’t see any disadvantages with them really and like that, being able to move it around would be very handy at times to allow more space in the yard.
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Yes, I've used a similar setup before with a cashel engineering portable crush and it worked well. One disadvantage is that you can't reclaim the vat on it, as it's not fixed. However, you get more flexibility.
 
candor said:
Yes, I've used a similar setup before with a cashel engineering portable crush and it worked well. One disadvantage is that you can't reclaim the vat on it, as it's not fixed. However, you get more flexibility.
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We still have no herd/flock number sorted yet so I doubt I’ll be able to reclaim vat on a normal gate anyway. I assume it’d be sufficient from a department point of view as a crush?
 
No issue at all with using a moblie crate like that at the front of a chute . As for the pleasing the department . Local lad bought a farm of land used the existing crush to get his herd no . I`m sorry i never got a pic of it . It consisted of the wall of a dwelling house on one side a 3ft wall on the other and a pallet for a head gate collecting yard was similar low wall`s . Department did`nt bat an eyelid at it .
ZetorMan98 said:
We still have no herd/flock number sorted yet so I doubt I’ll be able to reclaim vat on a normal gate anyway. I assume it’d be sufficient from a department point of view as a crush?
Click to expand...
 
massey 6480 said:
No issue at all with using a moblie crate like that at the front of a chute . As for the pleasing the department . Local lad bought a farm of land used the existing crush to get his herd no . I`m sorry i never got a pic of it . It consisted of the wall of a dwelling house on one side a 3ft wall on the other and a pallet for a head gate collecting yard was similar low wall`s . Department did`nt bat an eyelid at it .
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If I'd known the bar was that low I'd have the herd number already :laugh:
 
Cheers lads for the tips. I think I might go for it so, or go and have a look at it at least. Another new head gate would be similar money I’d imagine and it’ll save me having to go messing buying gates and making brackets etc
 
Looking at upgrading some facilities in a shed here and I don't like the set up of the forcing pen. Does anyone in Ireland (or UK) produce quadrant rotating forcing pens?
I've seen some, but they are Australian:
320324-320327-N-Force-90-deg-2.4m-N-Force-Permanent-Race-Entry-Set.jpg

Most of those I've seen have an arc of 180deg. I only want one with 90deg. This leads onto the question - at what radius does their benefits become nullified? I presume they only manufacture in a set radius? Condon do 7.5 and 5.1m diameter setups but recommend the larger one.
They might not suite for the space I've got, but I'd like to see the options available.
 
redpower said:
Looking at upgrading some facilities in a shed here and I don't like the set up of the forcing pen. Does anyone in Ireland (or UK) produce quadrant rotating forcing pens?
I've seen some, but they are Australian:
320324-320327-N-Force-90-deg-2.4m-N-Force-Permanent-Race-Entry-Set.jpg

Most of those I've seen have an arc of 180deg. I only want one with 90deg. This leads onto the question - at what radius does their benefits become nullified? I presume they only manufacture in a set radius? Condon do 7.5 and 5.1m diameter setups but recommend the larger one.
They might not suite for the space I've got, but I'd like to see the options available.
Click to expand...
Put Cattle Sweep Tubs into google and click on images and it will bring up photos of different ideas and set ups. They are mostly American but they will give you a good idea of what you can do. I came across an American manufacturer's website once and there was about 20 different configurations on how you could set up the forcing pen and the location of the exit gate from it, I thought I had it saved for future reference but can't find it now.


 
redpower said:
Looking at upgrading some facilities in a shed here and I don't like the set up of the forcing pen. Does anyone in Ireland (or UK) produce quadrant rotating forcing pens?
I've seen some, but they are Australian:
320324-320327-N-Force-90-deg-2.4m-N-Force-Permanent-Race-Entry-Set.jpg

Most of those I've seen have an arc of 180deg. I only want one with 90deg. This leads onto the question - at what radius does their benefits become nullified? I presume they only manufacture in a set radius? Condon do 7.5 and 5.1m diameter setups but recommend the larger one.
They might not suite for the space I've got, but I'd like to see the options available.
Click to expand...
Do clipex do them?
 
I'm shoehorning one into a shed here reusing a few gates that are lying about. Only a few cattle here so not a big crush. It's really only three wintering pens that I'm adding a few bits onto to make use of them as a crush and for loading during the summer months and then vet visits.
I've a bigger crush to put up on an outfarm, so I may well put in a bud box or a sweep tub into that one.
 
Tell you what I'd do is have a yard that they go in 1 side then out of the other if possible.
My yard they go in then turn 180 degrees to come back out of the race and it's not ideal as they want to turn to come backnout of the holding pens
When time and funds allow I will alter the back of the shed next door and make a yard just behind the race so the beasts can gonin through the shed then down the race
 
@headcase - that is actually the conclusion I've come to. The dispersal pen is sufficiently large, but the collecting and forcing pens are on the small and awkward side - due to the hinging of the gates. Can't really switch the hinges as I need that configuration to use as a forcing gate for loading.
Everything is a compromise when you don't have a blank canvas. Hopefully my other one will be better, although the concrete pad has been laid and is not a fully regular shape, but I' can make a better stab at it - I think.

Fortunately, I'll have a gated yard outside that I can use as a holding area so your suggestion may be the way to go.

I had thought a tub or box would help, but I think the simplest and most cost-effective solution is not to fill the collecting pen to the gills. It would be a collecting pen of 15m2 and a forcing pen of 18m2.

Teagasc manual states the space requirements as:
• Young cattle: 0.9 to 1.1 m²
• Finishing cattle: 1.4 to 1.7 m²
• Suckler cows with calves: 2.3 to 2.75 m²

The forcing pen is 15ft x 15ft with the race along one side reducing the forcing pen size by 2.5ft (0.75m) - giving the 18m2 value (4.75m x 3.8m). Plan was to have the rear part of the race with a gate opening out to into the forcing pen to put the animals up into the race. I've it planned as a 6ft gate, but not sure if a smaller or longer gate would be better. I feel that a longer gate would give the animal more of a chance to turn as the gate was swung to be latched. A 4ft would not swing out too far into the forcing pen, but would it be too tight for the cattle to get up the race.
 
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