Tips to Build a Stress Free Cattle Yard

In today’s environment, it is critical for cattle to be handled in areas that provide the least amount of stress possible to avoid any uneasiness to arise. It’s also important to consider placing the cattle in an area in which it is easy to operate for handlers, to ensure safety as much as possible. Steel Supplies Charter Towers builds their cattle handling equipment onsite, to the highest quality standards. In order to exploit the highest benefits and build an effective and stress free cattle yard, a few methods should be considered.

People

It is important that handlers to remain calm and be confident and assertive as cattle can detect fear and hesitation. The handlers must also know that, like us, the cattle have a range of individual space (flight area) around them and if entered by strangers the cattle consider it to be a risk and will move far from it. Learning the flight area guidelines can also be useful to the handlers to control dairy cattle development.

Stress Free Cattle Yard

Farmers should design their cattle handling system to be safe, simple and efficient. This will ultimately make the cattle feel comfortable with the handler. Important things to consider are:

• • Site – Place the cattle in a flat field to avoid uphill movements.
  • Layout – Ensure there is adequate space to maintain a strategic distance from the cattle making sudden, tight turns.
  • Orientation – Support the cattle through the handling system by ensuring the exit is back towards the field or home pen.
  • Lighting – Cattle are uncomfortable of moving in dark areas so ensure the entire system is sufficiently bright. This also implies working with cattle is less demanding.
  • Floor: the floor must not be slippery and should also contain a uniform surface as anything distinctive. For example, depleted feeders will capture cows attention, making them stop and examine.
  • Strong sides – handlers working outside the area will distract the cattle, so they should work in strategic areas where sides are stronger. For example, working at the gate would influence the cattle to gather in there and help the handlers to better control where the livestock is going.
  • Holding pens – round pens work better as there are no corners for the cattle to stow away in. Never overpack pens as cows require a lot of space to move into the race.
  • Race entrance angle – It’s important to have only one straight side and another 30-degree angle.

Steel Supplies Charter Towers can help you with designing and building the stress free cattle yard for your farm.

Get a quote on our website, or contact us at 07 4787 4355 or send us an email at sales@ssctowers.com.au