handling pens for cattle and sheep

[Jonny_livingstone]

What size of pen would I need to work 150 ewes on an out farm

 

[Danllan]

Hmm... how tightly packed you want them depends on what you want to do with them; based on my race and holding pens I'd say maybe a bit over 50'x15', but I guess it depends on breed - we've got Easycares and the ewes run to about 60kg.

 

[Jonny_livingstone]

Hmm... how tightly packed you want them depends on what you want to do with them; based on my race and holding pens I'd say maybe a bit over 50'x15', but I guess it depends on breed - we've got Easycares and the ewes run to about 60kg.

I was thinking 40x30 that would work out near the same

 

[Danllan]

I was thinking 40x30 that would work out near the same

My estimate would be 750 square feet, yours 1200 square feet, mine gives them 5 square feet per head, yours 8 per head. It might not sound like much, but the extra 3 sq ft each (= 60% more) is a lot in real terms. Thinking on it, I didn't include the race itself and a small overspill area, but that would add only a bit over another 140 sq ft.

 

[Pan mixer]

Ideally for 150 sheep the holding pen at the beginning of the race needs to be in two or possibly 3 to make it easier to work.

We work about that many in 2 x 30/30 foot yards and as you get towards the end the last few have plenty of room to run around a perspiring shepherd

 

[Danllan]

Ideally for 150 sheep the holding pen at the beginning of the race needs to be in two or possibly 3 to make it easier to work.

We work about that many in 2 x 30/30 foot yards and as you get towards the end the last few have plenty of room to run around a perspiring shepherd

Square yards? If you cut a bit off the corners the sheep would find it easier to run rings round you. We keep it all linear with the livestock, more flow and less chance of turning etc..

 

[Pan mixer]

Square yards? If you cut a bit off the corners the sheep would find it easier to run rings round you. We keep it all linear with the livestock, more flow and less chance of turning etc..

Good point, we hardly ever use sheep yards though as we have easy care too and we use the yards for other things.

 

[Cvx1170]

Keep it narrow and long, 30ft is way too wide

 

[David.]

This^
Sheep yards no wider than 10 or 12 ft max or they will take the pee relentlessly, you need to be nearly able to cover it with outstretched arms.
The more room the better for the holding sections, so that the ewes dont wipe shite over all the lambs when you are having a prolonged working session.

 

[Danllan]

This^
Sheep yards no wider than 10 or 12 ft max or they will take the pee relentlessly, you need to be nearly able to cover it with outstretched arms.
The more room the better for the holding sections, so that the ewes dont wipe shite over all the lambs when you are having a prolonged working session.

Good sense there, the widest single part we have is 8' and the b*ggers can still sometimes manage to dash past or under a stick...

 

[unlacedgecko]

This^
Sheep yards no wider than 10 or 12 ft max or they will take the pee relentlessly, you need to be nearly able to cover it with outstretched arms.
The more room the better for the holding sections, so that the ewes dont wipe shite over all the lambs when you are having a prolonged working session.

Use a dog in the pen.

My current set up is in an old poultry shed. The holding pens are the full width of the shed (45ft?). Dogs mean the sheep flow well.

 

[unlacedgecko]

What size of pen would I need to work 150 ewes on an out farm

If you’ve only got 150 ewes wouldn’t a mobile system be better? Then you can add to it if/when the flock grows.

 

[icanshootwell]

Good point, we hardly ever use sheep yards though as we have easy care too and we use the yards for other things.

Looking to get some easy care ewes to try. Any bad points or are they as good as people say.?

 

[Dry Rot]

Would sheep run around the outer edge of a round pen with an offset exit, if you see what I mean? Horses definitely think in straight lines and think escaping from a round pen is only a matter of going faster in cicles! (Stupid brutes!). They would turn in a square or long pen.

I'm always interested to see the stone built gathering pens (?) on the hills probably built decades ago are round and have wondered about that. I was told they were for shelter, but that's not very convincing to me.

 

[Pan mixer]

Looking to get some easy care ewes to try. Any bad points or are they as good as people say.?

Lambs aren't worth so much at the market here, the butchers laugh at them although they seem quite happy when they are sold deadweight.

The lambs never make huge carcasses.

There is an alarming amount of 'hair' on the fences in the Spring - don't worry though the birds take most of it to line their nests.

 

[pgk]

Looking to get some easy care ewes to try. Any bad points or are they as good as people say.?

As you might expect big variation often based on what dam line from which it was graded up. We have a smaller c55ķg line and a larger 60kg plus line. We send purebred killers deadweight where they grade well. Last year average paid 19.6kg which excludes all the kgs over 22kg unpaid. Luckily not too many run over the 22kg dwt. Texel cross lambs can go live weight where we are usually withing top few on p/kg.

 

[Pan mixer]

Not a particularly good photo, but I took it today.

A couple of April born Welsh Mule x Char lambs with some Easicare Ewes and lambs (May born) hanging around.