swinging calf creep gate

[pine_guy]

Last year (first year with sucklers for a while), had cows in cubicles with access to a yard, then the calves could creep to another loose bedded shed with better quality silage available. Had a temp creep gate last year which was just made of two horizontal bars. worked well till the claves got bigger and we raised it a bit and a couple of cows started creeping it as well.

This year I would like to make a proper creep gate and swing it across the doorway, the gap is 15foot wide. So what design do people recommend? anything to avoid?

I'm thinking verticals as well as an adjustable horizontal bar to stop the cows creeping it. One thing I'm not sure about is if the bottom horizontal bar will be a problem for feet if it is up say a foot off the ground so the gate doesn't catch muck when it is swinging.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Floordoor]

Put the creep bit at the hanging end of the gate rather than in the middle as is normal, will be much stronger, had a few gates with creep in the middle snap In half.

 

[Stewartry hill]

Make vertical bars come out because cow's can get stuck bottom bar of the ground is not a problem

 

[pine_guy]

in my head the was going to make the whole (or at least the majority) of the gate a creep as there will be 60+ claves in the group. but if I have to make the verticals moveable, then its not as straight forward.

 

[Sharpy]

I will take a couple of photos of ours tomorrow. 25 calves run in and out a single space no problem. And horizontal bars are a waste of time.

 

[pine_guy]

I guess this is kind of what I had in mind.

 

[Sharpy]

I guess this is kind of what I had in mind.

If a cow takes a run at that it's history.......

 

[Chae1]

We've just got the gate held open by a bar. Calves walk under it. Would be over 60 going through it as one creep serves 2 pens.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I guess this is kind of what I had in mind.

I’ve got one of them in the shed on one bay but the calves can only get through in one spot

 

[milkloss]

Can you run electric level with the top bar a couple of foot towards the cows? It will stop them on the shoulder before they bow down to squeeze through

 

[pine_guy]

Can you run electric level with the top bar a couple of foot towards the cows? It will stop them on the shoulder before they bow down to squeeze through

probably could, but a hassle/expenses I wasn't really looking for.

 

[S J H]

I've used the square of a newton rigg cubicle before and it was the right size, held the gate square aswell.

 

[pine_guy]

I’ve got one of them in the shed on one bay but the calves can only get through in one spot

Why can they only get through one place?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Why can they only get through one place?

Because that’s how we made it...

 

[Northeastfarmer]

@pine_guy this is one of two calf creep gates we made for different sheds, nothing fancy but does it’s job

They’ll only get a ring feeder of seed silage insife there as they have a calf creep in an outside run out...Only half a dozen November born cows inside atm so no grub in there till more come in

 

[Nearly]

I guess this is kind of what I had in mind.

Extra top and bottom rails would add a lot of strength.
Have 2 creep gates with different sized gaps? One for spring one for autumn?

I've about 5 scattered around the farm.

 

[dannewhouse]

interesting to see how you get on as I'm planning a similar idea:

plan to swing it 10" from floor
100mm x 50mm box for bottom and top. hole for vertical bars drilled through top but only 1 side of the bottom box (to stop verticals dropping through) 50mm tube for verticals a flat metal strip along top on anti loosner fasteners to stop verticals working way up. also a horizontal rail with a few positions probably held in by antiloosners (wether you can get them long enough or I end up with a bracket holing horizontal probably 50mm pipe.

also drill an extra set of holes for verticals so they can be set at say 450mm centres and 550mm? or 450 and 500 but will have to juggle them as a 450 and 500 the 1st set of holes would merge?

I will draw this design up in cad to see your opinions.

also someone said don't make the 1 creep gap central make in near the hinge, do not! make it near the catch for strength surely?!

 

[Sharpy]

@pine_guy
Gate with creep gate pictures

Gate is 4' tall, 15' long made from scaffolding pole.
Total creep gate width is approx 4'
The opening is restricted to approx 2' with scaffolding poles clamped on with scaffolding clamps. These are easy to adjust and are easily undone when a heifer or cow gets wedged halfway through the opening with no dramas. The unwedgeing cow scenario is why the total gap is so big. The little gate is to split the cows and calves when needed and means the gate can be used as a normal gate as well.

 

[Nearly]

@dannewhouse I like your design but scaffold pipe size holes in 100x50 box at calf or cow head height would be a magnet to ear tags.

 

[dannewhouse]

@dannewhouse I like your design but scaffold pipe size holes in 100x50 box at calf or cow head height would be a magnet to ear tags.

just drawn it all up fancy then thought whats keeping the gate square? ie a diagonal barrier all the bars are welded so hold strength my design wouldn't hold square. so best to revert back to 2/3 openings at the catch end of the gate with some form of lift out verticals possibly anti looser fastener's verticals attached one side of gate horizontal attached on other side.

I have similar design holes in my creep feeders and cant say they give any tag problems, however my cows look at a ring feeder and shed there tags!

we sorted sucklers other day and 1 only had button tag so I guessed it was 65 but later found 65 so decided its 59, ordered tag so we will see when I get it in crush (best check before I put new tag in!) I'm pretty sure as I wrote all red shorthorn tag numbers and ticked them all off bar 59! (I write colour in my movement book helps a heck of a lot!)