Best Calving gates

[NorfolkK]

Looking to change shed set up and get new calving gates. What makes do you all recommend please (or advise against)? Heard conflicting reviews of the IAE but no idea about the others

 

[Nearly]

I've a home made one in each pen of 10 cows.
Not suitable for everything but that's what the full crush is for.

 

[Cowpoke82]

This Bateman one was good but I’d look at the teemore engineering one also

 

[Blue.]

Bo-steel make the best.

Calving Gates by BoSteel based in Galway Ireland

Calving gates were once a luxury item to have in your shed but in recent times they have become a necessity due to safety. Contact BoSteel today

bosteel.ie

 

[Blue.]

Get the longest one possible.

 

[BAF]

Weve got teemore ones at work. Theyre pretty good. They had to use the shed as a youngstock shed this winter and the little barstewards haven't managed to break them or bend them so I'd say they're pretty bomb proof.

 

[M-J-G]

We just fitted a Jourdain bull head yoke on the fronts of the individual pens and hung a gate beside it to use as a guide.

 

[David1968]

We just fitted a Jourdain bull head yoke on the fronts of the individual pens and hung a gate beside it to use as a guide.

How do you get her head out of that if she goes down on you?

Ideally a calving gate yoke should go all the way to the floor.

 

[Enry]

3 in 1 Calving Gate - Teemore Engineering - Livestock Housing Specialists

The Jourdain telescopic 3 in 1 calving gate is ideal for dividing 2 calving pens with the head locking yoke accessible from both sides. 3 in 1 calving gate can be paired with any of the 5 bar ends.

www.teemoreengineering.com

 

[Old apprentice]

Just fastening the cow with a yoke with out being able to stop the cow going from side to side can be a big difficulty

 

[Whitepeak]

Check the height of the top removable bar, I've one (not sure which make) and the top removable bar isn't high enough. You really need the next fixed bar up to be removable as well for doing ceasars, it's right where the cut starts! Be ok for Dexter's I guess

Also plan your layout. Visited a farm who'd spent a fortune putting in 4/5 Jourdain/Teemore calving pens in a new build shed. But his layout didn't make sense to me:
To clean out one pen you had to do all of them, so you couldn't clean out between cows.
Feeding was down a narrow passage only accessible with a wheelbarrow.
Cows were fed through the head yoke, so were mucking right where you'd stand to calve them/where the calf would drop.

 

[aled1590]

Got a Ritchie gate here had it good few years now. I like it maybe doesn’t look quite as strong as some of the above but it’s held up to bouncing limmy heifers numerous times. The bottom half of the gate lifts up on ours to help get a calf to suckle but still keeping the cow secured I think that’s a great addition for safety

 

[M-J-G]

How do you get her head out of that if she goes down on you?

Ideally a calving gate yoke should go all the way to the floor.

The locking bar opens at the bottom to allow a head out, but as you say it doesn't go to the ground.

If I'm concerned that a cow will have a bad enough calving that she might loose power in her legs I'll stick a halter onto her and let her head out of the yoke. I would say that's only sensible practice regardless of what kind of yoke you've got though.
But in the mean-time I've got a good robust pen and restraint and I can use the calving pens for bulls when I want to.

 

[hubbahubba]

I have one bateman like above picture and a couple iae. Bateman removable rails far better but I do prefer the iae yoke, far simpler design and better design if the cow goes down or just to let her back out.