Beef Finishing Sheds Design

[crashbox]

If you had a blank canvas and you wanted to put up a shed or possibly two for holding 200-240 beef head what designs would people think off.

We are thinking locking yokes, 18ft scrap passage, concrete panels dividing scrape passage off straw yards.

Interest in how you access the straw yards to empty out, also size of sheds for this number of stock.

any photos would be great

Just my two-penneth...

To save yourself some cash, you can split groups with internal electric fence. Never would have believed it til I saw it.

Suggest 20ft bays rather than 15ft.

Obviously make sure water troughs are on the concrete, not the bedded area.

 

[beardface]

Just my two-penneth...

To save yourself some cash, you can split groups with internal electric fence. Never would have believed it til I saw it.

Suggest 20ft bays rather than 15ft.

Obviously make sure water troughs are on the concrete, not the bedded area.

We use electtic to shut then on/off the scrape to clean up. Works a treat and not as much metal to drive in to.

 

[Martyn]

Just my two-penneth...

To save yourself some cash, you can split groups with internal electric fence. Never would have believed it til I saw it.

Suggest 20ft bays rather than 15ft.

Obviously make sure water troughs are on the concrete, not the bedded area.

Won’t rust either!

 

[Jaffa Cakes]

Slatted shed for a start

What is the ideal width of a slatted pen to give stock enough space, keep each other warm and all get feeding along one side. Say 15ft Bay

 

[Skintagain]

Slatted shed for a start

I can’t think of a worse job than tanking tbh

 

[Jaffa Cakes]

I can’t think of a worse job than tanking tbh

For why?

 

[Skintagain]

For why?

I hate slurry tanking with a passion

I love fym spreading

 

[Jaffa Cakes]

I hate slurry tanking with a passion

I love fym spreading

Ahh right. Thought you meant in terms of not liking tanks for animal performance

 

[Skintagain]

Ahh right. Thought you meant in terms of not liking tanks for animal performance

Oh no slats are very good if set up nicely. Clean as a whistle

 

[Cowlife]

Just to be different…cubicles is a game changer here for our beef. Have up to 120 of various ages in our old dairy set up after we moved to a new building & robots for the cows. Use 3-4 bales of platts sawdust every other day & they come out of the winter spotless.

I note it doesn't suit op but we have the same. Beef heifers thrive in the cubicles with mattresses. We don't bed as it's not necessary.
The other shed has rubber on slats, dirtier and less dlwg.
I reckon it's partly down to them relaxing in the cubicles with out getting tramped over.

 

[aangus]

I’ve nearly got this finished. Not the greatest photos

 

[S J H]

Think if money was no object and on a green field site for beef finishing i would start with 200x120x30 shed with central passage for mixer wagon/straw chopper and canopy both sides so i could have the sides fairly open above 3m poured walls. Two bay gated 40ft lying areas with passage infront that can be shut so the whole length can be scraped and sorted. Big undercover handling crush/loading/unloading set up at one end and keep adding 20ft bays the other end. I wouldnt entertain locking yokes,cubicles or slats

Ours is 22 degree roof pitch with a 1.8m overhang 2m panels it’s 4.2m to eaves, very rarely get any rain blow in and we’re very exposed here.

 

[Wesley]

I note it doesn't suit op but we have the same. Beef heifers thrive in the cubicles with mattresses. We don't bed as it's not necessary.
The other shed has rubber on slats, dirtier and less dlwg.
I reckon it's partly down to them relaxing in the cubicles with out getting tramped over.

We get on just as well with steers in them as we do heifers. Was a bit unsure how we’d get on before we put anything in there. We’ve always been tight on space so filled our other sheds first with younger animals & put what ever was left in the cubicles so had a big age & size range. Its the best we’ve had animals grow. We put it down to space & being more content as nothing else has changed. Feed, scrape & run around with a Bobman every other day.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Make it as big as you can and a general purpose shed you can easily convert to other use.

 

[Gulli]

We get on just as well with steers in them as we do heifers. Was a bit unsure how we’d get on before we put anything in there. We’ve always been tight on space so filled our other sheds first with younger animals & put what ever was left in the cubicles so had a big age & size range. Its the best we’ve had animals grow. We put it down to space & being more content as nothing else has changed. Feed, scrape & run around with a Bobman every other day.

We try and just keep heifers in the cubicles steers are fine but they pee all over where they lie. Massive straw saving but you need more space for muck

 

[Macsky]

Quite like some of the sheds where the centre passage is raised so the cattle either side are chest height to the feed

And maybe a barrier that slopes forward slightly from bottom to top, give them a little extra stretch, less feed to push in?

 

[Martyn]

I like the concept/idea of having bedding area lower than scrap passage so you can fill it up over winter and focus on main fym clean out in the spring/summer. What have people done 3ft lower with ramps upto scrape passage?

 

[Gulli]

Ours is about a foot higher I think, maybe 18 inches.
the feed passage I mean, scrape passage is the same height as bedded area

 

[beardface]

I like the concept/idea of having bedding area lower than scrap passage so you can fill it up over winter and focus on main fym clean out in the spring/summer. What have people done 3ft lower with ramps upto scrape passage?

Ours is about 6 inch lower. Muck out 2 or 3 times over winter.

 

[ollie989898]

I do think I would lean away from slurry because it is just going to be a perpetual headache with the EA and ammonia and putting roof over the store etc etc etc on and on. Solid FYM can be heaped in a field for 2 years if needs be and it's better for the ground in the long run.