The Meadowbrook Farm

The Meadowbrook Farm at Eastern Kentucky University is home to this cattle research and teaching facility. The system sports two hydraulic squeeze chutes, so two sets of students can learn to operate the squeeze chutes while practicing husbandry procedures. Getting good overhead pictures of the layout is difficult inside the building, so I included a simple sketch showing how the system lays out (it could also double as a high-speed feed yard processing system or a cattle reproduction facility for slow procedures). The straight lane leading to the crowd pen holds about 100 cattle. Curved alleys are preferable to straight alleys but are necessary when space is limited. All the fences have a 2-inch gap at the bottom for washout. The concrete slopes to the outside, and drains wash water under the fence. The fence is 5 feet high, and the catwalks are 42 inches down from the top of the fence. Slide gates are open-sided, so cattle in the crowd pen see others walking into the single-file chute. When the gate opens, they tend to follow.