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Eastern Iowa | My winter project this year is to renovate the inside of my barn so that I can work my cows for preg testing and shots, maybe even run some feeder calves through from time to time. The old barn has had many, many renovations over they years, beginning as a dairy barn, then as a grower for feeder pigs, then had a portion dedicated to farrowing sows in crates with another section as a hot nursery for 150 weaned pigs. After that, it held sows post weaning and for heat detection. I don't know of many who have had their barn do more jobs than ours, but it has set mostly empty in recent years, and what I really need today is a better way to work these animals.
I have attached a diagram of the barn for those who want to play along. Just print it off, sketch your ideas, and scan them back to your computer to post here for everyone to pick apart.
I will be working with a group of about 50-100 cows at a time. There are options available in the yards outside to do much of the sorting. I just want something inside, out of the elements, that I can count upon to work.
Not that it matters, but the sow breeding room is attached to the barn on the north side (fully slatted, shallow pit, currently unused--calf room potential?) and the milk house is on the east, for those who may want to know which way is straight with the world. The outside lots are to the south, there are four lots out there to work with. Attached just to the west of the barn is a 20 foot wide x 80 foot long lean-to that could hold many sorted cows (not listed on the diagram.) The dotted lines that run along the north side are a short stem wall (8" tall) that used to have hog gates on top of them. These can be removed. I have shown where the support posts sit (brown dots.) Wooden walls are shown in brown, as are the walk in doors. Gates are shown in red, and indicate which way they swing. Grid squares represent 1 square foot, for simplicity's sake.
I have two approaches to the whole thing: GO around the old hot nursery/maternity pen with the animals and point the chute out the gate on the SE corner, or avoid the hassle and try to build something in the more open back end. We are of differing opinions here at home, so I won't try to lead anyone one way or the other. I just want ideas for something workable, and I know I can always bounce things off of AgTalkers.
If this works, I will put an "AgTalk Approved" sign on the wall when I am done!
Edited by GangGreen 1/3/2013 20:26
Attachments
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 Barn Diagram.pdf (912KB - 760 downloads)
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Help me renovate my barn. I want an "AgTalk Approved" working system inside.
