Description
Located on the Gulf Coast of Texas, this remote ranch needed pens to hold 600 calves for shipping. At weaning time, cows were sorted from the calves and shipped on trucks and trailers back into distant pastures. The calves were pre-weaned and vaccinated in the curved facility, once after weaning, and again 6 weeks later. They were pastured near the handling facility during this time. On shipping day, the calves were moved into the angled pens prior to the truck convoy’s arrival. One truckload and two truckload pens held the calves. Deep grooved concrete, important for low stress handling, starts half-way through the wide curved lane. This is also where the 60” high solid fence begins. The three most important principles when designing facilities for cattle are; Solid sided fences in high use areas like the curved lane and crowd pen. Cattle fear only what they can see. Blocking vision with solid fences keeps them calm. Deep groove concrete floors also keep cattle calm, and give them confidence to walk through the facility. The last principle is curved fences. Curves make cattle think they’re going back where they came from, and takes advantage of their natural tendency to circle.
