Bull Pens

[Gav836]

A while ago somewhere on here someone was asking for pictures of bull pens, I can't find the topic now but these are some pictures of our three pens/sheds. The shed part is about 5m x 4m and the pen is of similar size. Sheds have a bull proof drinker on the back wall and a refuge panel for us to get behind in there if we need to next to the gate dividing the shed from the pen. The pen has a feeder in the front corner with a neck crush built into it, this only works on the two smaller stabiliser bulls though, Balmoral the Limousin has a really muscley neck that is bigger than his head so it won't hold him

Drinker in shed

Shed

Neck crush/feeder

Pen

Two of the three pens/sheds (number three on right edge of picture)

[archbarch]

that looks a neat set-up Gav makes the job safer. All the years ive worked with cattle ive only ever felt at risk from Lim heifers and work colleagues that make handling cattle risky.

[Gav836]

I have to say that the only heifer I've ever been frightened of is a limousin as well, the thing is completely bonkers, sent us flying while we were trying to scan and inject them last year, the only other problem one is an Aberdeen Angus, my shin is throbbing at just the thought of her........

Those pens were designed with our safety, and theirs for that matter, in mind, just makes the job easier for all of us

[powerrabbit]

Interesting observations about the Limosin, wild can be an understatement, add 'mental' and 'suicidal' to that. They can go bonkers, I've known them to break out and travel 2 miles to a secluded woody area just to drop a calf, I had a Limmy cow that did and would come back on her own to be milked and then disappear again until the next milking time, she did that for three weeks and came back then and brought her calf back with her, mind you, the calf was pretty wild, took another month to get near enough to it to get it penned up and another month to tame it enough to handle, if it had been a bull calf I'd probably have shot it for the deep freezer. Neighbour had a pretty wild Limmy steer that he was sending fat to market, he got it in the barn the night before to save time when the lorry came to load it but when the lorry arrived and they went in the (granite stone) barn for the steer, it had tried to escape by jumping out the little narrow slit opening that was about two feet higher than the steer and they found it hanging by it's head stuck in the opening, stone dead. I wonder how many Limosin cattle were destroyed unnecessarily in the BSE saga because of their wildness making them seem like they had it?

[Tractorman810]

is that sort of pen a off the shelf build then gav?? ie standard gates and fencing etc  or purpose built to each farms spec, looks a serious set up but well thought out to with reguards saftey for you and the animals

[powerrabbit]

I remember back in the mid 1970's seeing an uncannily similar setup on a bull breeding farm on the Hereford/Welsh boarder close to the Wye valley not far from the river.

[Gav836]

is that sort of pen a off the shelf build then gav?? ie standard gates and fencing etc  or purpose built to each farms spec, looks a serious set up but well thought out to with reguards saftey for you and the animals

A mixture of the two Sean, pens, gates etc are off the shelf designs but made to fit whatever size openings and whatever layout the farm having them installed may have