CATTLE SHEDS

[jackyoung123123]

Off the to of my head 12 ft scrape passage 20ft bedded.

around the size im thinking of putting up. im not sure weather to go 30 feet wide with 20 feet bedding and 10ft passage way or 32 feet with a 12 foot passage

 

[beefandsleep]

I am putting 50 big steers in that yard, it’s 100ft long. I think that’s about the max I would like to see. 40 would be better.

 

[jackyoung123123]

I am putting 50 big steers in that yard, it’s 100ft long. I think that’s about the max I would like to see. 40 would be better.

i would like to put a 40 foot wide shed up but with the way my yard is set up it would become a nuisance as you can see in this drawing (red is current shed, grey is concrete yard/track, Green is boundary hedge and white is where im planning on building next shed, its only 31 feet from concrete track to hedge)

 

[Far Gloss]

im thinking this idea here with the slurry/scrape gate if you understand my child like drawings! also ive just noticed your in Shropshire! not too far away from me! im in the Newtown area, last year we were in Nesscliffe though, have moved sinceView attachment 606604

If your thinking of this idea, I’d have the scrape passage all slats, no open pit either, then any solid muck/ straw/silage that won’t go down a slat you scrape it outside then stack it up.

also if you put any straw/ silage in the tank it will make the slurry hard to pump and spread.
Yes Newtown’s not to far I’m in Shrewsbury.

 

[beefandsleep]

Simple solution, rip out hedge, build shed as big as you like, don’t spend the rest of your life wishing you did it different/better/bigger/somewhere else, delete as appropriate.

 

[jackyoung123123]

Simple solution, rip out hedge, build shed as big as you like, don’t spend the rest of your life wishing you did it different/better/bigger/somewhere else, delete as appropriate.

it is the neigbours hedge... and the neighbours field next door and he doesnt want to sell, i was thinking of building an extra couple of bays instead

 

[jackyoung123123]

If your thinking of this idea, I’d have the scrape passage all slats, no open pit either, then any solid muck/ straw/silage that won’t go down a slat you scrape it outside then stack it up.

also if you put any straw/ silage in the tank it will make the slurry hard to pump and spread.
Yes Newtown’s not to far I’m in Shrewsbury.

i think in the end it will be the way to go, either that or just a single slat at one end to save on funds but i think that would cause extra problems

 

[beefandsleep]

it is the neigbours hedge... and the neighbours field next door and he doesnt want to sell, i was thinking of building an extra couple of bays instead

That’s a shame, what about the other side of the yard?

 

[jackyoung123123]

That’s a shame, what about the other side of the yard?

there is currently a stone barn there which we are planning on having converted for my son in a half a dozen or so years, the options are either extend the long shed that is curretly there, but that would involve adding a longer concrete track or building where the white patch is, which is not doing anything anyway

 

[beefandsleep]

Sometimes you have to work with what you’ve got I suppose 10ft scrape passage would be tight, what are you scraping out with and what class of stock? I think needs to be wide enough for them to be able to walk round the back of cattle feeding at the trough without jostling. 12ft I thought was the minimum for feeding cattle. That would give you 18ft to bed. How about a totally open yard with water troughs on the feed barrier to avoid the problem of wasted space I mentioned earlier.

 

[jackyoung123123]

Sometimes you have to work with what you’ve got I suppose 10ft scrape passage would be tight, what are you scraping out with and what class of stock? I think needs to be wide enough for them to be able to walk round the back of cattle feeding at the trough without jostling. 12ft I thought was the minimum for feeding cattle. That would give you 18ft to bed. How about a totally open yard with water troughs on the feed barrier to avoid the problem of wasted space I mentioned earlier.

i would get away with a 32foot wide shed....JUST... it would be in the hedge a little. the cattle in there would be around 800kg, they are big simmentals, and it would be scraped out with a standard scraper on a grey fergie, until i could afford a box scraper as ive been told they do an amazing job compared with your standard scrapers

 

[AndrewG]

View attachment 606620
10” kerb between scrape passage and bed. Scraped out 3 times a week, it is stackable so no slurry to deal with. Those water troughs are the best thing about the yard, I’ve just put them in an I love them. Tip them out every time I scrape.
It was previously an open yard with no kerb and a massive water trough at one end. I will be making all my yards like this over the next year.

I like the water trough set up, is that custom made or off the shelf ?

 

[Shorty]

View attachment 606620
10” kerb between scrape passage and bed. Scraped out 3 times a week, it is stackable so no slurry to deal with. Those water troughs are the best thing about the yard, I’ve just put them in an I love them. Tip them out every time I scrape.
It was previously an open yard with no kerb and a massive water trough at one end. I will be making all my yards like this over the next year.

I put those drinkers in a shed 13' gate across a scrape passage, 7' drinker and 20' 1.5 m concrete panel as a wind buffer, 6 X 40'x 30 straw yards with 13' scrape passage. They are bloody brilliant

 

[beefandsleep]

I like the water trough set up, is that custom made or off the shelf ?

They are off the shelf, although they are made to order. These are the Bateman ones. I found it impossible to get a quote from IAE. In fact I’m still waiting 6 months later, I couldn’t be bothered chasing them. The best thing about them is the shroud which stops the cattle drinking from the bedded side and protects the trough.

 

[Andrew]

Pictures of our last shed build here

https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/cattle-shed-build.102186/

 

[Pan mixer]

Here is mine, not quite finished yet but very happy with it, chalk under back part, tipping troughs in all pens except where the big bull lives.

Everything red is home-made.

 

[aled1590]

I have the same problem as you @jackyoung123123 All cows on straw beds in various small sheds. No matter what I feed them (unless it's straw) it comes out as slurry, and having to muck out sheds and load into trailer is a real pain. Im thinking of building one shed to house all cows, like the idea of a sloping floor

 

[Pebd99]

I have the same problem as you @jackyoung123123 All cows on straw beds in various small sheds. No matter what I feed them (unless it's straw) it comes out as slurry, and having to muck out sheds and load into trailer is a real pain. Im thinking of building one shed to house all cows, like the idea of a sloping floor

Cows getting 2-3 kg/hd a day of straw will not be slurry. Makes a big difference to the bedding. Biggest saving of straw is getting good ventilation to draw out the moist air. Scrapped pass at the feed barriers also helps a great deal.