Quite the handling system!

[littledoggie]

So if your alley can hold 5 cows, how big should the bud box be? We made our bud box a little smaller after some trial because the cows seemed more liable to circle.

[DaneG]

I don’t know the size required I have steel panels so it was easy to experiment with box size and I did. One thing that i’ve noticed is the size depends on the cows. Ac/dc cows = big box Vs John Denver cows = smaller box!

[Blaithin]

Blaithin - was thinking about your training comments. When we wean, all classes of cattle go through the system - everyone gets pour-on and sorted on the way out of the squeeze. We don't need to actually catch any in the head gate at this time. After the calves have been weaned for a week we run them through the system again for their vaccinations. We have noticed that the calves go through the system quite well at this point, so I guess they were kind of trained the first time through where nothing really happened to them.

It’s amazing what a little bit of “desensitizing” can do. Taking time to just walk them through an alley to get to food on the other side can make a world of difference. Much like halter training by leading them for water.

I’ve also seen people train them to be easier to load by just leaving a stock trailer open in the field with some treats in it. The animals can come and go, no stress. If you can get results like Dylan Biggs loading his bulls up in the pasture... well why not try!

Considering how oxen are used, it’s not like cattle are dumb animals. We just don’t teach them good things, it’s usually just what to avoid.

[smcgrath76]

We run a bud box both for our working chute and our load out. I have worked around tubs and owned a portable system with a tub and I don't like them very much. With our box on the working alley, I can't vaccinate as fast as 1 or 2 guys can load the chute. If the trucker is fast with gates we can load out a pot in well under 10 minutes. Our box on the chute is 20x14. The loadout is about 30 x 14.

[Challenger007]

It’s amazing what a little bit of “desensitizing” can do. Taking time to just walk them through an alley to get to food on the other side can make a world of difference. Much like halter training by leading them for water.

I’ve also seen people train them to be easier to load by just leaving a stock trailer open in the field with some treats in it. The animals can come and go, no stress. If you can get results like Dylan Biggs loading his bulls up in the pasture... well why not try!

Considering how oxen are used, it’s not like cattle are dumb animals. We just don’t teach them good things, it’s usually just what to avoid.

Automation of some processes is very convenient. In the modern world, this allows you to save time, which can then be used to solve other problems. And less stress to animals is a more humane decision than scaring a cow or calf every time.