Roundhouse

[Lovegoodstock]

We put up a roundhouse 2011 and conventional to the same square footage in 2009. Same price, except all the gates to divide the extra pens separate, costing extra, but that would be the same if I split the conventional shed into more sections. Cleaning out a doddle, don't find the pens awkward at all, basically pens like a slice of cake, the end of pen to the central handling pen is width of jcb bucket so cleans out easy. What I like is if you have half an hour at end of day, you can shut one pen in middle and clean out, f you have a big shed you, or I tend to wait until I can commit to a whole day, or half a day so I get a fair chunk done. No good if you want to store hay/straw inside but I want to house cattle, have other sheds for that. Bonuses are, im mainly on my own, if ones lame, gets done, other sheds I need someone to stand here or there to get it into pen. Like mucking out, worming fluking you can do 25/50 f you have spare 20/40 mins at the end of the day, where as if in big lots need to commit more time. Mainly homebred which helps, but 25 bought ones in this winter, 2 of @harperfarmer, never vaccinated for pneumonia, jabbed 3 in 5 years, one was a mistake and hadn't got pneumonia, one was moving one molly coddled calf in a box most of its life and due to a lot calving got moved in there 2 days before vicious east winds. Was told but sceptical before I had one, yes no sides, but lays drier than my conventional, guess depends on your winds area etc, but due to no back of shed, moisture seems to drift through and snow, where as if you have a back/ side wall it stops. Remember a thread on tb testing and was accussed of bullsxxt on the numbers we put through, got my test moved to November where I have half in half still out, now do them all through r.house, do over two afternoons normally, with mum whos 80 getting them in from fields, me plus a guy who comes in 2 days a week and helpful vet expect to do a good 80 an hour. Done both sheds at similar times, im happier with r.house, but as most things, every farm different so what suits one farm...

 

[Surgery]

We put up a roundhouse 2011 and conventional to the same square footage in 2009. Same price, except all the gates to divide the extra pens separate, costing extra, but that would be the same if I split the conventional shed into more sections. Cleaning out a doddle, don't find the pens awkward at all, basically pens like a slice of cake, the end of pen to the central handling pen is width of jcb bucket so cleans out easy. What I like is if you have half an hour at end of day, you can shut one pen in middle and clean out, f you have a big shed you, or I tend to wait until I can commit to a whole day, or half a day so I get a fair chunk done. No good if you want to store hay/straw inside but I want to house cattle, have other sheds for that. Bonuses are, im mainly on my own, if ones lame, gets done, other sheds I need someone to stand here or there to get it into pen. Like mucking out, worming fluking you can do 25/50 f you have spare 20/40 mins at the end of the day, where as if in big lots need to commit more time. Mainly homebred which helps, but 25 bought ones in this winter, 2 of @harperfarmer, never vaccinated for pneumonia, jabbed 3 in 5 years, one was a mistake and hadn't got pneumonia, one was moving one molly coddled calf in a box most of its life and due to a lot calving got moved in there 2 days before vicious east winds. Was told but sceptical before I had one, yes no sides, but lays drier than my conventional, guess depends on your winds area etc, but due to no back of shed, moisture seems to drift through and snow, where as if you have a back/ side wall it stops. Remember a thread on tb testing and was accussed of bullsxxt on the numbers we put through, got my test moved to November where I have half in half still out, now do them all through r.house, do over two afternoons normally, with mum whos 80 getting them in from fields, me plus a guy who comes in 2 days a week and helpful vet expect to do a good 80 an hour. Done both sheds at similar times, im happier with r.house, but as most things, every farm different so what suits one farm...

Want to buy a pick up ?

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Roundhouse is not great for security and can not guarantee a 15 year old beaten up pick up from being stolen from a different set of farm buildings 2 miles away. As the kind yet surprisingly ugly former incompetent prop forward has just pointed out

 

[Surgery]

Roundhouse is not great for security and can not guarantee a 15 year old beaten up pick up from being stolen from a different set of farm buildings 2 miles away. As the kind yet surprisingly ugly former incompetent prop forward has just pointed out

Very good , thank you for your kind reference !

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Want to buy a pick up ?

That must have been a good woman you married, when did she teach you type and spell?

 

[Surgery]

That must have been a good woman you married, when did she teach you type and spell?

I am dictating to her and she's typing

 

[boyo]

We put up a roundhouse 2011 and conventional to the same square footage in 2009. Same price, except all the gates to divide the extra pens separate, costing extra, but that would be the same if I split the conventional shed into more sections. Cleaning out a doddle, don't find the pens awkward at all, basically pens like a slice of cake, the end of pen to the central handling pen is width of jcb bucket so cleans out easy. What I like is if you have half an hour at end of day, you can shut one pen in middle and clean out, f you have a big shed you, or I tend to wait until I can commit to a whole day, or half a day so I get a fair chunk done. No good if you want to store hay/straw inside but I want to house cattle, have other sheds for that. Bonuses are, im mainly on my own, if ones lame, gets done, other sheds I need someone to stand here or there to get it into pen. Like mucking out, worming fluking you can do 25/50 f you have spare 20/40 mins at the end of the day, where as if in big lots need to commit more time. Mainly homebred which helps, but 25 bought ones in this winter, 2 of @harperfarmer, never vaccinated for pneumonia, jabbed 3 in 5 years, one was a mistake and hadn't got pneumonia, one was moving one molly coddled calf in a box most of its life and due to a lot calving got moved in there 2 days before vicious east winds. Was told but sceptical before I had one, yes no sides, but lays drier than my conventional, guess depends on your winds area etc, but due to no back of shed, moisture seems to drift through and snow, where as if you have a back/ side wall it stops. Remember a thread on tb testing and was accussed of bullsxxt on the numbers we put through, got my test moved to November where I have half in half still out, now do them all through r.house, do over two afternoons normally, with mum whos 80 getting them in from fields, me plus a guy who comes in 2 days a week and helpful vet expect to do a good 80 an hour. Done both sheds at similar times, im happier with r.house, but as most things, every farm different so what suits one farm...

I'm surprised that both sheds came to a similar figure. I've only priced the structure alone and the roundhouse seems on a different planet!! Did you find that when squeezed the firm dropped the price?

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Had a stroke of luck when the salesman took me around another roundhouse, he told me they got iae and batemans to quote for all internal gates and work. They wanted firms to build a separate line so if they placed an order it was done there and then, Iae agreed. I didn't buy through roundhouse and went privately to batemans, that saved from memory nigh on 15k with the squeeze crush and installation. First in immediate area and did odd open day so good free advertising which saved a fair bit but cant remember exact figure, and from memory they are keen to use there own men to install the pads and maybe groundwork, didn't and that was a reduction. Didn't go for that extra pen in front of the pen in front of crush if that makes sense, as preferred the continuous feeding with feeder wagon rather than having 8/10ft of space at start and end of feeding you couldn't get to and have to bucket in with loadall. Concreted 12ft inside and outside of feed barrier, chalk rest of shed, though that's the same as other shed, think that's a heron but stupidly cant remember. Cattle do better, two reasons, heifers and steers in bunches, 8 pens so drawn to exact level bunches, which could of course be done in a conventional but we didn't, they were job lot 60/80 in a bunch, so more bullying etc even though plenty of space, but the key is the ventilation, never had a problem in the heron, almost all new sheds are fairly good, but there is a constant air flow with the hole central in the roof, if that's a scorching summers day its a tshirt and light jumper in the roundhouse, if that's a thick misty November day, its hard to say but its fresher in roundhouse, the air moves and doesn't hang, I house at start of winter 160 odd suckled calves, how much is vaccine I don't know, 6/8 quid and time. If that's about the figure that's over a grand without time, no use of draxin zactran, building myself up for a bad morning tomorrow but no losses. Im well pleased anyway

 

[Forever Fendt]

How do you go on if you need a new cover in 20 years time £££££££ unless the insurance pick up the bill

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Well its guaranteed for 25 years, im 40 the other day, to be honest I don't give a damn!!!

 

[Forever Fendt]

Well its guaranteed for 25 years, im 40 the other day, to be honest I don't give a damn!!!

live for today and farm as you are going to live forever

 

[Lovegoodstock]

and don't lose time worrying about a roof that may or may not be with you in a couple of decades!! Without having that extra pen in front of pen in front of crush, you do watch lorries closely reversing, as with the overhang that back to within a foot of it, but barely use lorries as use livestock trailer to sell all stores through thame which is only 5 miles down the road, only really use lorry for cull cows which is about 5 times a year.

 

[dannewhouse]

if you were to pen a "traditional" building up to compare to a roundhouse and have an open ridge (and no sides at all) to compare and possibly a handling area at 1 end which could be accessed py penning cattle back would the price be like for like roughly? and would the ventilation be equal?

a rough guide I state "straw barns" as a kit are £2.50 - 3.00 per square foot depending height I'm sure a roundhouse "kit" would be a lot more but do you save on less gates? to bring it back level?

 

[Lovegoodstock]

I would be guessing roundhouse a lot dearer, it sure as hell would be comparing to 2.50/3 per sq ft. I would actually think you would need more gates for the roundhouse as its got eight pens split by two 12ft one 8ft, so think that's 18, four water troughs so guess similar, then front feed barriers would be if im right, 30. One thing I forgot to say, the two sheds are exactly same sq ft but roundhouse has exactly double the feed area. Cant say for sure but obviously no sides and open ridge will create air as opposed to sheeted sides or even yorkshire boarding. But in my opinion the circular/octagonal shape aids the moving air which I, and im guessing and experience, not science or fact, that the oblong building wont. Id be quite confident that someone earlier worried about the no sides and wet etc and I said doesn't seem a problem as flows through, would not be the same in a long building even with no sides, as unless a gale behind it, it will have to drop at some point even with no back wall. We have buildings on 3 sites, luckily all fields adjoin and sites coupe of miles apart on road less as crow flies. Bought a very good mobile crush 20 years ago for 3k, still think better than most on market now at 12, did well, still does, but can run all cattle through r/h so much quicker due to width of race, forcing gate, rarely use squeeze. Your pen at end of shed may work well for you, but not me. My equivalent sized shed to r/h is 160ft long, to get cattle from far end to other end where my hypothetical pen is, would be achievable but with lay out more hassle. Mum and dad are Trojans to be fair, but 80 and don't tend to get them to move cattle to pens, until month ago I only had a guy 2 days a week, so site of r/h makes it achievable on my own, and a keenan and jcb and my car to create a barrier!! Oh one thing may be of interest, so I sell stores, say 60 in r/h 12 m o start of winter to be sold in 4 months, 100 8 m o that will be wintered, summered and sold, so im not a fattener, my cattle are not spotless but nor are they filthy, always dry, never had digital dermititus, oh had 11 cull cows in sold in last 2 weeks sheared knees of 2 and belly 1 flank of lame one one side, but id on average use I guess 1 3/4 of those 4 string bales a day for bedding, guess those bales 300k? Clean fronts twice a winter, whole pens once a winter. Clean fronts I would say, 2 mins to move cattle out of pen, 5 mins to open barriers, 4/5 mins to clean behind 4 barriers , be 6 bucketfuls then a minute to shut barriers and let cattle back

 

[KennyO]

Have mentioned on here before but our neighbour has a 100x100' shed. Fed along two outside edges. Central race which can be accessed from all pens running out to a loading bank. Very good set up imo.

 

[dannewhouse]

the "square" version to a roundhouse? sounds a good setup

 

[JP1]

Have mentioned on here before but our neighbour has a 100x100' shed. Fed along two outside edges. Central race which can be accessed from all pens running out to a loading bank. Very good set up imo.

Could you persuade them or would they let you post a few photos?

 

[KennyO]

Could you persuade them or would they let you post a few photos?

Have posted them before!!

 

[KennyO]

Everything can lift out of that shed to make it a flat floor but it has never been done.

 

[JP1]

Everything can lift out of that shed to make it a flat floor but it has never been done.

Interesting they have a handling / centre race and a loading dock on one end