Cattle Handling Facilities

Cattle Handling Facilities
Justin Gdanitz DVM
08/2009

People will often ask which cattle handling facilities work best. Granted, some brand names, by design, work better than others but by no means is there one type or design that fits every operation.

Some very basic thoughts should be considered when designing any facility. Not our own thoughts, but cattle preferences. Cattle preferences can prove any facility a success or failure when put to work.

· Cattle are herd animals and enjoy moving in groups. Small crowded facilities or narrow gates and alleyways will prove hard to move animals through much less moving them through without injury.
· Cattle enjoy seeing where they are going. Dark barns, solid sided alleys, and shadows all work against this desire.
· Cattle are more likely to continue down a path of their choosing. When cattle are forced into an alley they are more likely to back out vs. continuing forward.
· Cattle want to go back the direction they came when feeling crowded or entrapped.
· Cattle enjoy following others. If they see one enter and exit an alley or chute ahead of them they are more likely to do the same.
· Cattle prefer to go around something they see pressure from. This is also true in their response to our movements along an alley (if they can see us to respond). Moving opposite the flow of cattle in the alley will encourage their forward movement in an attempt to move past the pressure applied by the handler. (Benefit of being seen vs. felt.)

Many people are now familiar with the Bud Williams concept of cattle handling and the “Bud Box” which is his design for cattle handling pens. Bud’s handling techniques and facilities capitalize on the afore-mentioned points to allow easier movement of cattle, more efficient handling, and less stress for both cattle and handler. Daniels alleyways prove to complement the Bud Box and Bud Williams handling techniques.

When utilizing these facilities it is good to remember key things.
· Sometimes less is more…. less noise, less pushing, less prodding, and less hot-shots. More reliance on cattle instinctive behavior. More reliance on well designed facilities. More enjoyment when working cattle.
· More is not always better….if the crowd tub or bud box works well when 1/3 or ½ full, it does not mean that filling it fuller will work better or faster. (A bud box or crowd tub should not be filled with more animals than can fit down the alley.)

Remember that cattle need clear and concise directions. Through our handling and facilities, we need to give them that.

Links for more on low stress cattle handling and “Bud Box’ use:
§ NDSU Bud Box demonstrational video: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/carringt/ or BreanneIlse@ndsu.edu and Vern.Anderson@ndsu.edu
§ Daniels Manufacturing Bud Box demonstration DVD: http://www.danielsmfg.com/
§ National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Low-Stress Cattle Handling Video: http://store.beefusa.org/Low-Stress)-Cattle-Handling-DVD-P194C12.aspx
§ Low-Stress Cattle Handling DVD preview: www.cattlelearningcenter.com/docs/LowStressCattleHandling.wmv
§ Bud Williams Stockmanship Website: http://www.stockmanship.com/

Bud Box dimension recommendations:
Rectangular crowd pen should be built 14 feet wide and 30 feet long for loading a truck, or 20 feet long when loading a squeeze chute. These dimensions encourage the people working the facility to work it correctly. The closing gate in the crowd pen should be solid but sides open.
· Cattle are moved into Bud Box and solid gate is closed behind them.
· Pressure is applied from side of Bud Box in which you desire cattle to flow.

Reference:
Bud Box by Alaina Burt, Beef Magazine, October 2008.