Sheep yard system

[shepherdess]

hello looking for a bit of recommendation or experience of what works well.

To do any handling with sheep at the mo it’s a Prattley in the field, not always pleasant when muddy, so on occasions when can be, we have a small concreated yard area that we are looking to better equip.
It’s a bodgey hurdles and string job in their at moment! and just a fudge to work with.

So a few gates to make the race up to the scales are needed.
And thinking maybe working with what we have the Prattley to add in to do this, unless you lot have a better solution?? (Easier and cheaper)
As thinking Prattley it’s not much more to buy.. mobile and light to move and work with, but it’s fixing it to the yard to stop it sliding about?

but second part I’m struggling with is where near to Dorset can I contact to buy Prattley bits from?
Sorry so long apost

 

[Al R]

I’m pretty sure Rappa and Prattley gates/yards are interchangable. Rappa is based in Hampshire..

You could get some solid IAE posts and drill them into the floor so you’ve got some stability to the system.

 

[NZDan]

My advise, if you have concrete then keep the prattleys well away, no faster way to f**k a set of prattleys than using them on concrete.

 

[JD-Kid]

if yer. putting in concrete then go a bit more and. make the handling rase etc etc. out of timber can always make the back pens out of prattleys
netting and posts for holding pens. if using same area all the time and just use. temp yards in paddock when needed

 

[JMTHORNLEY]

Can you or anyone local weld on site? Best system I had the pleasure of working on was an ole fella who had made his yard over time, trying and testing new things out.

He had a large holding yard behind the system, a squared pen area. In that pen area was split by a race that ran the full length with a shedding gate, right into the holding pen and left into three individual pens that could access the race from each one but a sliding gate into each holding pen. Very good for when you wanted to keep a pen separate but get the next pen into the race. He had a swinging gate that would close up on the sheep from the last pen and force them into the race then letting the pen above through, this gate then slid up the race so you could get back round the next pen.
The race was over the dip tank and the best bit about it all was how stress free is was, dogs could move through the pens. I have a strong dislike for sheep nowerdays but if I ever got the call to go and help him I wouldn't think twice. Hope my ramblings make seance

 

[shepherdess]

I’m pretty sure Rappa and Prattley gates/yards are interchangable. Rappa is based in Hampshire..

You could get some solid IAE posts and drill them into the floor so you’ve got some stability to the system.

Oh that’s handy if they slot together, not used rapper guessing it’s as light?
Thinking maybe having some hole drilled in concreate that a pin can drop in and out of, so not in way of scrapping or tripping when taken down for cattle.

 

[shepherdess]

if yer. putting in concrete then go a bit more and. make the handling rase etc etc. out of timber can always make the back pens out of prattleys
netting and posts for holding pens. if using same area all the time and just use. temp yards in paddock when needed

Concreats already their.
Timber would of been best choice but it does have to be take apartable so cattle can use it at this end too. Which is what’s making it hard to decide what’s best, gates can’t be to tall either as leaning over to worm etc, ( I’m a short arse lol) why the Prattley or rappa gates came in as not to tall to reach over

 

[Sheep92]

If i were you id put in a good sized area of hardcore 804 and use your prattley on that, concrete gets very messy as well when handling a lot if sheep, keep a small concrete area for footbath area or dipping tank? Just something i have done on an out farm

 

[shepherdess]

Can you or anyone local weld on site? Best system I had the pleasure of working on was an ole fella who had made his yard over time, trying and testing new things out.

He had a large holding yard behind the system, a squared pen area. In that pen area was split by a race that ran the full length with a shedding gate, right into the holding pen and left into three individual pens that could access the race from each one but a sliding gate into each holding pen. Very good for when you wanted to keep a pen separate but get the next pen into the race. He had a swinging gate that would close up on the sheep from the last pen and force them into the race then letting the pen above through, this gate then slid up the race so you could get back round the next pen.
The race was over the dip tank and the best bit about it all was how stress free is was, dogs could move through the pens. I have a strong dislike for sheep nowerdays but if I ever got the call to go and help him I wouldn't think twice. Hope my ramblings make seance

Sounds quite ideal Is a few welders about , but sadly maybe a bit to perminant

 

[JMTHORNLEY]

Sounds quite ideal Is a few welders about , but sadly maybe a bit to perminant

Sorry I should have added, all removable as the whole system is set in posts in the slab. Took us about 30 mins to down the lot and put the caps on, we used to wrap bales on the open yard

 

[shepherdess]

If i were you id put in a good sized area of hardcore 804 and use your prattley on that, concrete gets very messy as well when handling a lot if sheep, keep a small concrete area for footbath area or dipping tank? Just something i have done on an out farm

In an ideal situation would be nice to just start a scratch but ££ and using what’s already their is the option we’re going on hear sadly.
It’s not something we would always use, as Prattley in field is main one this is just improving an area that’s more often used as a race for weighing really, and then making it a bit more usable than the heavy bailer twined gates that’s their now.

 

[shepherdess]

Sorry I should have added, all removable as the whole system is set in posts in the slab. Took us about 30 mins to down the lot and put the caps on, we used to wrap bales on the open yard

Sounds ideal not close to Dorset to come build it are you

 

[JMTHORNLEY]

Sounds ideal not close to Dorset to come build it are you

Bussmans holiday... I never say no to work

 

[John Chance]

Are you using Zinc sulphate for footbathing? If so, use the concrete area as a post foot bath holding area to get a clean 20 minutes standing.

 

[shepherdess]

Are you using Zinc sulphate for footbathing? If so, use the concrete area as a post foot bath holding area to get a clean 20 minutes standing.

Was another use we thought, but thanks for the add of this .
I’m going to jinx it saying I know but thanks to the dry, and lack of grass ( a pro side of this) theirs been no stalky grass as everything has been eaten!! so for first time in keeping sheep we’ve hardly treated anything for lameness this year which is rather nice but I’m sure now I’ve said it

 

[Gibbybox]

How did you get on with your idea @shepherdess ? Did you ever get a chance to set it up?

The reason I ask is I also use a mobile yard (Rappa) in field for all my handling and have to use a different spot/corner each time as the sheep churn up the ground so much. I often put carpet down in the dosing race and forcing pen which helps but that doesn’t help the gathering and shedding pens getting mucky in this weather and the carpet is a bugger to move about.

My plan was to hardcore an area in the corner closest to the entrance and concrete a pad for the race and forcing pen, with the rappas held in place with holes and pins like you suggest. Just wondered if you had success with it.

Cheers

 

[Danllan]

How did you get on with your idea @shepherdess ? Did you ever get a chance to set it up?

The reason I ask is I also use a mobile yard (Rappa) in field for all my handling and have to use a different spot/corner each time as the sheep churn up the ground so much. I often put carpet down in the dosing race and forcing pen which helps but that doesn’t help the gathering and shedding pens getting mucky in this weather and the carpet is a bugger to move about.

My plan was to hardcore an area in the corner closest to the entrance and concrete a pad for the race and forcing pen, with the rappas held in place with holes and pins like you suggest. Just wondered if you had success with it.

Cheers

Can't comment on the use of mobile kit integrating with other stuff, because I have only helped friends with it. But... we have a permanent set up here which started as part-on-part-off concrete and the remainder was down to local stone. The race itself was on the edge of the concrete, with a bit for us to walk up and down. That was fine in the dry, but despite the stone it got silly-messy in wet weather. And there was also the inevitable ever-deepening 'step' at the transition from stone to concrete (having put lots of stone down, where does it all go? ). Having worked with a cousin's all-concrete race yard, that's the way we'll go.

 

[Gibbybox]

Can't comment on the use of mobile kit integrating with other stuff, because I have only helped friends with it. But... we have a permanent set up here which started as part-on-part-off concrete and the remainder was down to local stone. The race itself was on the edge of the concrete, with a bit for us to walk up and down. That was fine in the dry, but despite the stone it got silly-messy in wet weather. And there was also the inevitable ever-deepening 'step' at the transition from stone to concrete (having put lots of stone down, where does it all go? ). Having worked with a cousin's all-concrete race yard, that's the way we'll go.

I had a feeling this might be the case, thanks for your input. At the main home farm we work with a concrete race/forcing pen and coarse crushed rock in the handling pens but if you’d seen them at the weekend in the driving sleet after weeks (months) of heavy rain it was far from ideal. Tends to dry up well in the drier months though and the second set wouldn’t be used all that often.

My thinking is that a big concreted area would need to be washed down/swept up occasionally in any case and that’s not easy in the middle of a field with no water or drainage without just soaking/muddying the adjacent area.

I’ll give it some more thought!

 

[Danllan]

I had a feeling this might be the case, thanks for your input. At the main home farm we work with a concrete race/forcing pen and coarse crushed rock in the handling pens but if you’d seen them at the weekend in the driving sleet after weeks (months) of heavy rain it was far from ideal. Tends to dry up well in the drier months though and the second set wouldn’t be used all that often.

My thinking is that a big concreted area would need to be washed down/swept up occasionally in any case and that’s not easy in the middle of a field with no water or drainage without just soaking/muddying the adjacent area.

I’ll give it some more thought!

Concrete will beat everything else, that's the long and the short of it. If you put a bit of a gradient on it - toward a hedge-line, or anywhere else you don't mind the crap going - it will work its way there without needing too much help, bl**dy hell, the current weather would do it all for you!

 

[Al R]

I had a feeling this might be the case, thanks for your input. At the main home farm we work with a concrete race/forcing pen and coarse crushed rock in the handling pens but if you’d seen them at the weekend in the driving sleet after weeks (months) of heavy rain it was far from ideal. Tends to dry up well in the drier months though and the second set wouldn’t be used all that often.

My thinking is that a big concreted area would need to be washed down/swept up occasionally in any case and that’s not easy in the middle of a field with no water or drainage without just soaking/muddying the adjacent area.

I’ll give it some more thought!

old cowmats off a friend. Overlapping 1 side which we walk down, it was First used a few weeks ago with 150 ewes coming out of a field of turnips so seriously wet yet they were perfect on the rubber. - race panels are missing to show how their laid out.