Pig loading ramp design

[Jack Russell]

We have just put in some new Pig sheds and are just getting finished off. One of the last jobs is the loading/unloading facilities. The way the buildings are laid out it means we have to come down a 2m side passage and turn 90 degrees onto the lorry. Does anyone have a decent layout of gates etc and some dimensions?

Cheers

 

[Pan mixer]

I haven't got any dimensions or anything but have used mine for years.

Make sure that the ramp is truck width or just greater. A step to let the ramp 'feet' down onto in front of the end of the race so that the pigs don't have to step up onto the truck, but there mustn't be a gap there as they won't go over it. A gate each side that will hinge onto the trucks back side gates.

There are euro regs now on steepness - I wish that I had done mine less steep as it can be a bit icy and slippery on a snowy morning. Pigs will walk up a concrete slope much more easily than they will up an aluminium one. My ramp is about 4 feet high at the front.

Plenty of deep tamp marks in the concrete across the slope

I have a gate that swings round to the bottom of the ramp from the race to squeeze them up a bit.

Plenty of loading pens behind the ramp bottom in the sizes that you need for each pen that you are loading - there can be a delay with trucks and it is annoying to mix pigs from different pens and have them fight and scar each other whilst they are waiting.

If you are loading a lot of pigs out of the same yard you need to have pens to take the number of pigs that will go in each division in the truck - but you are best off with two or three times the size of pen in the loading race that they will have in the truck.

I think that pigs load best when they get a straight run at the back of the truck but that may just be because my system is like that, when we load cattle up the same ramp we have to bring them in at the side so that they load round a corner.

Pigs also load sweetly if they are got on board the first time - no time to come back out and change their minds, we find that loading more than 20 finishers at a time is awkward, the front ones are not bothered enough by the movement boards to keep going.

Loading pigs in the wind or in bright sunlight in a sparkly truck can be tedious.

When it goes wel we can get a deck of pigs on in under 5 minutes - in 3 or 4 pens on the truck.

Hope that helps.

 

[Jack Russell]

I haven't got any dimensions or anything but have used mine for years.

Make sure that the ramp is truck width or just greater. A step to let the ramp 'feet' down onto in front of the end of the race so that the pigs don't have to step up onto the truck, but there mustn't be a gap there as they won't go over it. A gate each side that will hinge onto the trucks back side gates.

There are euro regs now on steepness - I wish that I had done mine less steep as it can be a bit icy and slippery on a snowy morning. Pigs will walk up a concrete slope much more easily than they will up an aluminium one. My ramp is about 4 feet high at the front.

Plenty of deep tamp marks in the concrete across the slope

I have a gate that swings round to the bottom of the ramp from the race to squeeze them up a bit.

Plenty of loading pens behind the ramp bottom in the sizes that you need for each pen that you are loading - there can be a delay with trucks and it is annoying to mix pigs from different pens and have them fight and scar each other whilst they are waiting.

If you are loading a lot of pigs out of the same yard you need to have pens to take the number of pigs that will go in each division in the truck - but you are best off with two or three times the size of pen in the loading race that they will have in the truck.

I think that pigs load best when they get a straight run at the back of the truck but that may just be because my system is like that, when we load cattle up the same ramp we have to bring them in at the side so that they load round a corner.

Pigs also load sweetly if they are got on board the first time - no time to come back out and change their minds, we find that loading more than 20 finishers at a time is awkward, the front ones are not bothered enough by the movement boards to keep going.

Loading pigs in the wind or in bright sunlight in a sparkly truck can be tedious.

When it goes wel we can get a deck of pigs on in under 5 minutes - in 3 or 4 pens on the truck.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for that. We have a 2m passage that the pigs come into from doors at the side. I’ll hopefully have it split into 4 sections with gates and a couple on the loading ramp. If I can get this curve to work then I’ll be able to follow them around with a gate behind them. Our sheds are about 3 foot up to start with so the ramp will run near level. I hadn’t thought of gates at th ends of the ramp as I’d assumed I could do it with the wagons gates but now you say it I think we’ll have a set on.

 

[Pan mixer]

Thanks for that. We have a 2m passage that the pigs come into from doors at the side. I’ll hopefully have it split into 4 sections with gates and a couple on the loading ramp. If I can get this curve to work then I’ll be able to follow them around with a gate behind them. Our sheds are about 3 foot up to start with so the ramp will run near level. I hadn’t thought of gates at th ends of the ramp as I’d assumed I could do it with the wagons gates but now you say it I think we’ll have a set on.

It is also a good idea (which I haven't done) to put reflective strips either side of the ramp so that the wagon driver can reverse accurately.

 

[Jack Russell]

I think the trailers are 2.55m wide, does 2.7m sound ok or is that a bit tight?

 

[Pan mixer]

I think the trailers are 2.55m wide, does 2.7m sound ok or is that a bit tight?

Should be OK with a decent driver, my side walls stop at the end of the pig ramp, the side gates go past that so there is some flexibilty.

The concrete stops just behind the chap in the lighter suits' back foot.

Best picture I could find.

 

[v8willy]

Few points from a drivers side.

Don't make the ramp too high, modern trailers are made that they can load from ground level, have places where you have to lift the trailer up to get the doors open.
A pen behind with gates at both ends, means the driver can load away on his own, takes the pigs out onto trailer & closes gate behind him, tells you how many he needs next, you fill the pen while he sorts decks & the like, speedy that way & easier to keep the count right.
A line if you can at 90 degrees to the ramp, easier to back on square to it.
First time you use it put a mark at drivers wheel, then he knows how far to back on, even different trucks can judge roughly after the first time if they are there regular.
Bungie cords on the gates that lead up to trailer gates, if these gates are telescopic even better.

 

[Pan mixer]

Few points from a drivers side.

Don't make the ramp too high, modern trailers are made that they can load from ground level, have places where you have to lift the trailer up to get the doors open.
A pen behind with gates at both ends, means the driver can load away on his own, takes the pigs out onto trailer & closes gate behind him, tells you how many he needs next, you fill the pen while he sorts decks & the like, speedy that way & easier to keep the count right.
A line if you can at 90 degrees to the ramp, easier to back on square to it.
First time you use it put a mark at drivers wheel, then he knows how far to back on, even different trucks can judge roughly after the first time if they are there regular.
Bungie cords on the gates that lead up to trailer gates, if these gates are telescopic even better.

Some good points especially about the 90 degree thing, my ramp is off-set to the main thoroughfare but the front is in line with the road gates but isn't square to the ramp if you see what I mean. This aids the vehicle backing up but several new drivers try to get square onto the race.

I took a few photos just now - it all looks a bit shabby but it was built in about 1990 and maintenance has been sporadic to non-existent.

Before the truck arrived, the lift-a-load is there with an ex- hospital pig (well out of withdrawal) and a couple of sheep. You can see how the ramp is offset from the main thorough fare but the front step is perpendicular to the road exit.

Our ramp is only 4 blocks above ground level - too low for ideal I think, but when I built it we loaded a lot of pigs into Ifor Williams trailers and it was a compromise.

The shelf on the front for the ramp to sit on (never quite finished, but we moved on to the next job) - 9 inches or so is about the right height.

 

[Jack Russell]

@v8willy thanks for your thoughts and help.

@Pan mixer thanks for your time and help in getting the photos. All a great help. Managed to get the footings dug this afternoon so hopefully will get the most of it done over the weekend. Will try and get some photos of the finished job.