Loading Cattle How Easy Is It For You?

Why do so few UK farmers use cow dogs?
Speaking personally, I like to keep everything as calm and relaxed as possible. Dogs probably not compatible with that? Haven't tried my daughter on her pony yet. I would imagine that a bite on the arse from a morbidly obese ginger aggro merchant would get them moving!

Edit: That describes pony, not daughter 🤣
 

Old drover

Member
Livestock Farmer
If youve a pen at the back of the trailer, shut them in and let them settle .Cattle will have a think an mostly go in .Too much brohaha is often counter productive . Its nice to have ex facilities but they arnt always available.
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Our handling system entry gate is 8ft 6, our wagon is 8ft. Run cattle into pen, shut gate, reverse wagon into place and faux side gates. Open pen gate inwards and they rush past you to escape and then you close gate behind them as the hit the backboard. Very homemade and heath robinson but it works grand.
our stock bull is easiest. Park up by the gate, throw a handful of nuts in and he’s up the ramp before you turn round! That used to being shunted between different small bunches of cows
 

Old Tup

Member
Our handling system entry gate is 8ft 6, our wagon is 8ft. Run cattle into pen, shut gate, reverse wagon into place and faux side gates. Open pen gate inwards and they rush past you to escape and then you close gate behind them as the hit the backboard. Very homemade and heath robinson but it works grand.
our stock bull is easiest. Park up by the gate, throw a handful of nuts in and he’s up the ramp before you turn round! That used to being shunted between different small bunches of cows
Would suspect most blokes would be easy to load once they got the idea of what was on😉
 

Bill the Bass

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
A lot of the American loading set ups seem to load cattle single file, you don’t see floats there with a big drop down back door.

cattle run through our single file chute into the crush really well, I often think a single file race running off the chute and up to a wagon would work well and load quickly.
 

Old Tup

Member
A lot of the American loading set ups seem to load cattle single file, you don’t see floats there with a big drop down back door.

cattle run through our single file chute into the crush really well, I often think a single file race running off the chute and up to a wagon would work well and load quickly.
Tried that once…by the time you get a penfull in they turn around and are heading back out again.
 
Cattle run in to a handling pen with a smaller pen behind. Close gate in to smaller pen which has a side gate that opens in to a handling race.

Back up trailer. Open gate "tapering " in to race. Let cattle go up one by one




Trucks, straw on tailboard. Rear gate behind. Let them circle and look. Eventually one will start to go up tailgate. Make sure others follow. Have good slam gates on the wagon
My South Devon’s were quiet and easy to load, and were moved twice per year from yard to grazing and back again. One year my haulier was off sick. So sent another driver. What a complete & utter tosser - He would stand alongside the ramp gate and as each cow went up the ramp he would whack it over the back back with a stick. Needless to say it spooked the next cow in line. I shouted to him to stop it, but thick, or deaf I don’ t know but he carried on. So I crept round the far side of the lorry until I was behind him and as he raised his stick I gave him an almighty whack with my stick & eventually he got the message. That driver never moved my cattle again And mutual loathing thereafter.
 

Tomo23

Member
Livestock Farmer
My South Devon’s were quiet and easy to load, and were moved twice per year from yard to grazing and back again. One year my haulier was off sick. So sent another driver. What a complete & utter tosser - He would stand alongside the ramp gate and as each cow went up the ramp he would whack it over the back back with a stick. Needless to say it spooked the next cow in line. I shouted to him to stop it, but thick, or deaf I don’ t know but he carried on. So I crept round the far side of the lorry until I was behind him and as he raised his stick I gave him an almighty whack with my stick & eventually he got the message. That driver never moved my cattle again And mutual loathing thereafter.

There's a firm not far from here whose regular lad is obsessed with his electric prod. Never seen anybody wind cattle up like he can.
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
True. But neither should be necessary with a well thought out handling/loading system and properly bred cattle.
I have never needed anything besides myself to load cattle into a truck.

It's when you get them in there that things are more even..

but then. Down here even the really sh!t setups are designed to work, you know, single-file races etc
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 34.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.2%

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

  • 1,286
  • 1
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/
Top