Calf Crate/Transporter

delaney001

Just looking for some help here on an idea I have.

Brother will be doing most of the calving work this spring, however, he recently had a replacement knee put in so hes slightly limited on physical labour. He still does everything like milking, driving, foddering, general running about. Still, dragging calves around might be a bridge too far for a plastic knee.

Trying to create something that will remove that hoore of a job of draggin new born calves from the maternity unit to individual calf pens. And 2 weeks later dragging hardy calves from individual pens to open plan yards and so on.

This is my plan so far (plenty of holes in it so far)
Make a form of a transport box with solid floor and corner posts, steel mesh to fill in the side/walls. Prob needs to be about 2-3 feet in height to prevent animals jumping out.

Roughly about the size of a front loader bucket, maybe 4/5 foot wide by 2.5 feet deep.

Have an idea (if i can explain this) that I will be able pick it up with the shear grab. If you imagine the front crossbar of the shear grab (directly above the blade, at the top) the calf crate will have two large hooks coming off the back of it. I will drive in with the shear grab, tilted down and as I tilt/rotate the grab upwards, the crossbar will catch these two hooks and lift the crate up. IF you imagine the way in which the euro-loader brackets work. The top two, you hook in under with the loader and then the attachment pulls in against the loader as you tilt it up, towards yourself.

The idea is, is that brother wont have to be taking off the shear grab to put this thing on, want to avoid that slowness and hardhsip and getting up an down outta tractor.

My main hope here is that 1 ye can give me advice on the structure of it and maybe an improvement on the idea of how to pick it with the shear grab and 2 that ye can suggest a good way of getting the animal into the box without too much hardhsip, i.e. a way of having a gate/ramp or something that will make it easy to get the animal in and as well if we have to go back into shed to get another animal, the first calf wont be able get out.


The main thins is keeping it as simple to create and simple to use as possible, caus of my experience of anything like this, the simpler it is, the better chance it has of working.


Anyway, any suggestions, experiences, pictures would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks very much

Grecco

Would something like this not be handier

http://readeroffers.irishtimes.com/i-cc-itds1387-nbb-1/HEAVY-DUTY-GARDEN-CART-/

Muckit

I'd agree with Grecco. You can get them with a crate too as far as I know. With the pneumatic tyres you'd go anywhere and they shouldn't be too hard pulled and cheap on diesel! Getting back to your simple idea, the tractor doesn't have to start for to be able to use it!

With the loader idea, there will always be a place where you can't get into without pulling down a wall and smashing a few lights.

Grand if you were into sucklers and talking about working out the field in summer with late calvers.

limo_100

would a wheel barrow not be the handiest of all for when there born. and when hes 2weeks of age could he not walk to d field

delaney001

Firstly, thanks for the replies.

A wheel barrow would work, an we looked at one of those deep ones but decided against. Between trying to lift him up into it and that if the animal was 2 weeks old, theyd jump out of it, we decided against it.

The idea in the first reply is a good one but unfortunately it kinda fails (for me) in the same way the wheelbarrow does. The thoughts of draggin 140+ calves 30 yards across a yard and then again two weeks later when they go to a larger free-running shed, to me (an more importantly to the brother who has brutal knees) still seems like a lot of work.

While i genuinely am grateful for the replies so far, I'm kinda stuck on the idea of implementing something that will go onto the loader or something like that. Tractor will be foddering everyday so its not like we'd be starting it just for this job.

Any mechanic/engineer minded people who have any suggestions or ideas?

Again, thanks or replies so far

roosky

seen the cousin using one of these ...he tips it up lets the calf into it and tips it back down and the lever action saves the lifting of the calf he just falls into it

http://www.easybarrow.co.uk/wheelbarrows/big_page_bc107wb.html

pakalasa

I think your own idea would work best. Put hooks on the back so that it can be picked up with the grab. I'd make the whole thing a cage though. It will stop calves from jumping out of it. Strong mesh wire would be fine for the sides and top. Timber would be fine for the floor too, just keep it thick enough. All the frame could be made from the same size angle iron. Put a cross beam under the timber in the middle too. The trick will be to pick it up and drop it down with the grab, without damaging the cage. A door across only half might be easier to get a calf in, if there's more in there already.

Here's a sketch;

Bodacious

Watch the cart the lady comes in with at 8.00.. light and handy and would handle a calf at 2 weeks also!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhA3_7sa1yU

Bizzum

Bodacious wrote: »

Watch the cart the lady comes in with at 8.00.. light and handy and would handle a calf at 2 weeks also!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhA3_7sa1yU

That's the job. You could even use it to polly calves.