Sheep handling pens - ideas

[Jerry]

Im thinking about changing my static pens as they are no longer really fit for purpose and need a lot spending on them including a concrete floor as most of it is just bare earth.

I have this shed that us but used for much. 16 foot bays. 30 foot deep. Concrete floor that slopes slightly from front to back.

There’s power and water in shed.

I would like to set up a system if pens and race inside the shed with external holding pens outside. I have most of the components in the shape of sheeted hurdles etc. but would need a few slinging gates. And a bit of welding needed to attach things to the stanchions with eyes and pins

Ideally want it so it can easily be removed at certain points in the year.

Just mulling over the design and wondered what people’s thoughts are in this basic approach?

 

[exmoor dave]

Im thinking about changing my static pens as they are no longer really fit for purpose and need a lot spending on them including a concrete floor as most of it is just bare earth.

I have this shed that us but used for much. 16 foot bays. 30 foot deep. Concrete floor that slopes slightly from front to back.

There’s power and water in shed.

I would like to set up a system if pens and race inside the shed with external holding pens outside. I have most of the components in the shape of sheeted hurdles etc. but would need a few slinging gates. And a bit of welding needed to attach things to the stanchions with eyes and pins

Ideally want it so it can easily be removed at certain points in the year.

Just mulling over the design and wondered what people’s thoughts are in this basic approach?

Is the race just a standard 18" wide race?

If so I would absolutely be incorporating a decent length 3ft wide drench race either as a single long drench race or a double race.

I've got a 36ft drench race on our static yard and the rappa has a double 16ft drench race.
Both are the most used bits of the systems.

Don't really use a clamp for treatments though

 

[Jerry]

Is the race just a standard 18" wide race?

If so I would absolutely be incorporating a decent length 3ft wide drench race either as a single long drench race or a double race.

I've got a 36ft drench race on our static yard and the rappa has a double 16ft drench race.
Both are the most used bits of the systems.

Don't really use a clamp for treatments though

Yes, was contemplating a dosing race, could put it along side the standard race and it would double as a pedestrian work passage for the normal race??

 

[Macsky]

Your going to get sheep piling at the hinge end of your forcing gate I’d say.

Also I’d try to put in a dosing race as well as a shedding race. Put your dosing race against the wall, shedding race alongside it with shedding gates midway into the 2 adjoining pens, standing in the dosing race to operate them, easy 3-way shedding.

 

[tepapa]

I'd consider moving the dosing race off the wall, give you somewhere to shed lots

 

[Jerry]

Mark two…

 

[Macsky]

How many sheep do you handle?

 

[Macsky]

Mark two…

Put your shedding gates one right after the other, so one man standing in the dosing race midway can shed into the two pens opposite, no need for the shedding gate at the end of the race.

 

[Jerry]

How many sheep do you handle?

About 350 ewes plus lambs, but next year will be run as two separate groups I think. In winter will be run as one group.

I have a mobile set up as well so that gives me a bit of flexibility.

I do want a covered work pen and concrete floor though, hence looking to utilise this shed better.

 

[Macsky]

If you had it the other way around so that the races were against the opposite side, you could have a door in the end wall tall enough to reverse a shearing trailer straight onto the end of the race, plus your working area would be naturally better lit and ventilated

 

[Macsky]

Plus if the trailer had exit holes for the shorn sheep they could exit straight outside rather than into a wall.

 

[Jerry]

If you had it the other way around so that the races were against the opposite side, you could have a door in the end wall tall enough to reverse a shearing trailer straight onto the end of the race, plus your working area would be naturally better lit and ventilated

Its a option but the ground outside that wall drops away steeply. Id have to make up a bit to allow access for the sheep and it would make it hard to get a shearing trailer in there. My contractor has a three stand trailer and it takes up a lot of space.

I sheared rams and replacements out of that shed this year, setting up outside bay 1 with just a few 10 foot hurdles and it worked well. Thinking it could still be done of that position and still plenty sheep lined up in the 4 front bays to keep them supplied with animals

 

[exmoor dave]

About 350 ewes plus lambs, but next year will be run as two separate groups I think. In winter will be run as one group.

I have a mobile set up as well so that gives me a bit of flexibility.

I do want a covered work pen and concrete floor though, hence looking to utilise this shed better.

It really is so much more pleasant working under cover..... prehaps with the exception of footbathing with formalin

 

[Boydvalley]

Have the race pointing towards daylight. Don’t think they will run well across the back of the shed.

 

[S J H]

Mark two…

I’d have gate that you can swing to close of the right angle if you’re not using the dosing race. Personally if can fit it in, I’d have a dosing race to fill a single race and have it pretty short, otherwise you’ve got to run them through twice. Failing that at least have a drafting gate that works for the drenching race.

 

[Jerry]

It really is so much more pleasant working under cover..... prehaps with the exception of footbathing with formalin

Its bad enough outside with that stuff and the wind is in the wrong direction. Daughter is bady effected by it and wont go near it.

I have a big fan I can rig up by the race to blow t away from the operators, if needs be or even set up the foot bath in the exit of the shed so its away from the dosing race.

 

[Jerry]

Have the race pointing towards daylight. Don’t think they will run well across the back of the shed.

Yes, that is a concern. If needs be I can always remove the gable end of the shed or make it a swing door so the end of the race is pointing towards the sky/light?

 

[Jerry]

I’d have gate that you can swing to close of the right angle if you’re not using the dosing race.

Sorry, cant seem to understand what you mean with that?

 

[exmoor dave]

Its bad enough outside with that stuff and the wind is in the wrong direction. Daughter is bady effected by it and wont go near it.

I have a big fan I can rig up by the race to blow t away from the operators, if needs be or even set up the foot bath in the exit of the shed so its away from the dosing race.

Tend to do our footbathing in the static system which is outdoors.
Drop a 10x3ft cow footbath into the drench race and you can put some serious numbers through steadily in no time at all.

Tend to set up the rappa and tepari in the sheep shed apart during lambing when we use the space for individual pens.
The rappa also gets used out and about but does spend most of its time under cover latched up to the tepari.

Nice wind tunnel through the sheep shed, so especially pleasant in there july- August

 

[Jerry]

Tend to do our footbathing in the static system which is outdoors.
Drop a 10x3ft cow footbath into the drench race and you can put some serious numbers through steadily in no time at all.

Tend to set up the rappa and tepari in the sheep shed apart during lambing when we use the space for individual pens.
The rappa also gets used out and about but does spend most of its time under cover latched up to the tepari.

Nice wind tunnel through the sheep shed, so especially pleasant in there july- August

I footbath mostly in gateways between mob moves, all it takes is a couple hurdles and they pretty much dose themselves as they run to a new paddock. 10 mins to set up and 10 mins to run them through. I know it is not ideal as they are not drying on concrete but if done regular enough it keeps on top of things I find, especially in dry weather.