# Winter pasture/working facility design



## slvr98svt (Jan 18, 2011)

I am looking to finally build a real winter pasture/barn which can hopefully double as my working facilities. So I have been scouring the internet and mulling design over in my head all winter and figuring out what I don't like now and what will hopefully make it better. Currently I have basically nothing! a 120' x 180' fenced in area, with a basic supply of corral panels in a pseudo crowd pen with alleyway ending at my prefiert headgate.

I am a part time hobbyist so currently at 12 cows with calves. I can see myself making it up to 30 one day but that will be in the distant future, but always better to plan for that. So take a look at my drawings and let me know what you think/would change. Basically I am planning to use the cow shed, 12' x 30' as a bud box to get to the alley. The solid side along the alley doesn't have to be a full wall, could probably be open, or closed on the east side of the alley, not sure on that yet. The orange, open side of the hay storage section is only open for the fact that I don't foresee me having the funds to enclose it completely this year. And for winter pasture, I would remove/open some of the gates in the middle to make a size able area for winter pasture. I am in western NY, so dealing with 5' of snow the last month hasn't been fun and with my current compliment of cows, they basically travel from the water to the feeders to the wind break and 90% of the pasture that's fenced in they don't traverse it. Lastly I plan on putting in a Ritchie water'er somewhere, probably in the middle with a concrete pad around it, and figure the barn part of the cow shed will have concrete in it as well. The rest will probable have to be stone for a while under the storage roofing.

Thanks,

-Matt


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

I'm not crazy about the holding pen layout. I don't think it flows smoothly. What I would change:

Establish a 10' alley running from your head gate exit east to the green line.

Off of the alley, make three holding pens going back south with each having the ability to dump into the bud box (extend the bud box further east into the holding pen in the southeast corner?)

What I would want to do is when I turned an animal out of the head gate into an alley going east. Let's say the first pen off the 2' alley and head gate is holding animals to be worked. The next two pens are available to sort into. All three pens off the 10' alley have gates that hinge on the east side. That gate would need to be 10' as well to cover the width of the alley when open to fill the pen. This gives you some sorting options when working a group of cows/calves. One class of animal in one pen and another class in another pen. All accessible from a common alley.

It's almost like a clockwise flow of animals through the system.

The 10' alley off the head gate going east still fits you green line on the north end thus allowing you to still have a load out alley on the west end.

Then you could split a drinker on one of the holding pens fence line to water animals in both pens.

Make sense? What do you plan to use for corral material?


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## slvr98svt (Jan 18, 2011)

Definitely makes sense, and I was trying to figure out how to make a "gate" swing down to meet the other one by the head gate to be able to make them go back south into those holding pens, but it would be a clumsy affair.

I thought about an alley like you stated but was having trouble figuring out what to do during winter as I am wanting to basically leave most of the holding pen "area" open as one pasture and didn't necessarily want a dead space alley to take up room. But that can be worked out easy enough I guess.

As far as material I am not sure on that either. I work with steel so I would like to stick to that, but cheap sucker rod is non existent up here, so I would have to buy surplus tubing which is still fairly expensive, and thought about road guard rail but that is pretty difficult to find up here as well! I am leaning towards working in an alley way to pull off from the head gate though, seems like the logical idea.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

Guard rail can be had here. That's what I built mine out of. Want a phone number and you can check on freight?

You want to leave the pen area open during the winter? Couldn't you just tie open whatever gates in the alley and pens to give them access to the whole area?

I would also maybe try to figure out a way to utilize the alley to load a trailer. Would be able to open the back door. Run them down the alley and into the trailer vs. using 2' alley and going through the sliding back gate. You have right much length of alley to get down before they get to the trailer. My concern would be animals balking in the 2' alley. Would be constantly proding them along.


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## slvr98svt (Jan 18, 2011)

Yes, please pm a numbe for the rail.

As far as winter, yes I would like to double use the area to kind of use as an open feeding/winter pasture area during the dark depths of winter here dec-march.

As far as the 2' alley goes isn't set in stone. But that might be a better idea than trying to run sold cows/calves through the headgate just to load the truck.

Thanks,
-Matt


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