Loading Cattle How Easy Is It For You?

bluebell

Member
Allways find loading up cattle into a cattle lorry one of the hardest tasks of all in the keeping of cattle, ive had cattle for over 30 odd years, in the past when we had a local mart, we bought our own ivor williams cattle trailer and loading the few that that took was fairly straight forwards, but since the market shut, we have to pay a haulier to take them, example we say load six steers, then four heifers onto the lorry, always seems abit dangerous and alot of fuss, now my point is asking this is to help others and get ideas drawings low cost solutions etc to make the job both safeer and less stressful for both animals and people, comments are very welcome?
 

bert

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
n.yorks
Load out of the race here, stops all the turning round as they come to the end door, you just need them to keep going, don't really want a hold up and a beast comes back down off the ramp and back into the race the wrong way round
 

tr250

Member
Location
Northants
We load most off the race which works really well but can’t get a decker there so have to load fat cattle from a passage way heifers load well but young bulls are dangerous so we let a compartment full so 4 or 5 at a time and follow them up with 2 square bales on the front of the loader because they won’t step onto the lorry and if a 700kg young bull doesn’t want to go it won’t and a big wall behind them makes them just go forward we don’t push them they just walk where they would stand still if you walked behind them
 

dinderleat

Member
Location
Wells
We tend to load artics with our trailer as we can’t get them in. 5 at a time doesn’t take long. We’ve got a pen the same width and size as the box so just back up to it. They’ve not got anywhere to go except in the box
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Loaded a bull onto a contractor's lorry up the farm road -- that was a really scary job. The bull would not be driven so the lorry driver suggested unhinging a gate and walking that behind him. It worked, but if it hadn't we'd have been like a couple of eggs going through a slicer!

Then I used to let summer grazing. Over summer, I'd give a shout when letting them into a fresh field. Then a shout when letting them into a small corral with half a small bale of hay. I'd repeat that every few days. That would get enough contained to put into a trailer behind the Land Rover and eventually, over several loads, we'd get them all shifted with no trouble. I'd have the next load ready when the owner came back. The owner tells me when he got them home, they remembered that call for years.

I train all my Highland ponies to self load. It is easily done and they soon get to know there is always food in the box. They never get forced in and, initially, can come out if they want. After a while, the problem is to keep them out!

I am considering cattle again and will definitely rig up something to get them used to going into dark containers. I have no ambitions to end up like a sliced egg in a salad!
 

casper74

Member
Location
North Yorkshire
I loaden out of a pen similar width to cattle trailer ( bit like mart docks) with the correct number in the pen for each compartment in trailer/wagon, they go in no bother, worst part is shutting dividing gates in trailer if one is rather "lively" and wants to come out fast.
 

BuskhillFarm

Member
Arable Farmer
As said load from a race or small pen. Don’t have tail board shiny. Also wind traffic noise affects/scares them if your on a windy site or near a busy road
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
We back the lorry up to the shed (140x60') which is divided into 2 areas... 8' wide race from the half way division to the door the lorry is reversed up to - use a trailer and a few straw bales. Usually tie in 2 hurdles to pull round behind cattle if they stall. Cattle come in from the other end and run straight into the lorry.

They're usually moving pretty fast by time they get to the lorry, the ones at the back push the ones at the front right on up the ramp 🤣
 

Old Tup

Member
Loading ramp to start with…..curved approach same width as tailgate……sheeted to above cattle head height….swing gate again sheeted to follow them around preferably ending up across bottom of tailgate, non return catches.
Enough cattle to fill truck pen each time, gate swings around behind ….truck is parked just off parallel with the approach pen.
Found single width races took too long to get a pen full through before the first ones turn around and head back out before you can get the truck gate around behind them.
 
Some lorry ramps are steep so having a step where you load them like they do at market will help
Worst place I’ve had to load a stock trailer is Shrewsbury market, there’s quite a hefty step with the floor rising from there. With my tractor drawn stockbox the tailgate is about level into the trailer but with ordinary cattle trailer they’re heading downhill into the trailer with the ground level where the trailer is parked rising away from the loading pens.

So whilst a step is a good thing, probably best if it isn’t any higher than the floor height of a standard cattle trailer if you want to use it for that too.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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