Weighing scales for cattle

Matt1983

Thinking of purchasing weighing scales for weighing cattle, to montior gains etc more closely and see which cattle performing better than others and the reasons why..Anyone have experience with these types of scales anything important to look out for etc?? Not cheap so want to get it right first time.Any help comments greatly appreciated?? Also would have interest in 2nd hand one provide it did the job.

stanflt

id 3000 from o donavan in cork


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lab man

how much money do these cost am thinking of getting one aswell

stanflt

lab man wrote: »

how much money do these cost am thinking of getting one aswell

1700inc vat

Matt1983

Thanks Stanfit appreciate da info,
but could u tell why ur 1 is better than these 2?

http://www.connachtagri.ie/index.php?p=61

http://www.connachtagri.ie/index.php?p=73

lakill Farm

got quoted 1200 plus vat for a scales the other day. I think its 2 ton and has 2 aa batteries and not rechargeable

reilig

lakill Farm wrote: »

got quoted 1200 plus vat for a scales the other day. I think its 2 ton and has 2 aa batteries and not rechargeable

What company was that with?

lakill Farm

reilig wrote: »

What company was that with?

Oneills in Kilkenny. I spoke to TJ O Neill I think he said if i bought in the next week or 2 he would sell it at the agri show rate of €1,100 plus vat plus €30 for delivery

he is on donedeal, advertises as repairs to diet feeders etc

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/machinery/2562877

i didnt do a deal yet, but i saw one of there scales on a farm in cavan

keep going

my self and nextdoor neighbour are thinking of buying one too and you just beat me to it to post it up here.2big jobs for it are weighing weanlings/yearlings and weighing dry cows for sale.could it weigh a bale,im always curious about them.are they easy to move from crush to crush and is it feasible to share.is it that the one with some sort of a tag reader stan that i heard about that you have.what width do you need in a crush. thanks

Sam Kade

These scales wouldn't give a very accurate reading if the animal was leaning against the crush or the wall, which they do. You would be better off with a free standing scales.

connormi

Anyone use the weigh beams for under the crush or is the scales tray type that fit in crush better

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pallet-cattle-crush-warehouse-3000kg-beam-scales-high-/200709956909?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item2ebb3ee52d

Matt1983

Cost wise would a free standing one be worth??..are the tray 1's in the crush that inaccurate that it would justify purchasing basically wat is a mobile crush with scales attached?

TUBBY

Matt, I have a free standing one from Conn Agri and if you put the same lad up on it three times, the weight woud be no more than 5kg out. Thats as good as any scales even in a mart.

I brought cattle to a mart after weighing the day before and they weighed 8-10kg less but that would be from the trip in. The trailer being full of sh*t after them counts as weight too:)

For any accurate measuring, if the surface is level and you check the scales by standing on both ends of it yourself, you wont be far off.

For the record, i didnt bother with tag readers etc. Cost about 1K or 1050, cant remember exactly and that was delivered.

lab man

TUBBY, was it in 2011 you bought it,

TUBBY

Hi Lab Man, no it was 2010 but a friend bought one there about three months ago and he didnt say it was dearer.

cattle man

Matt1983 wrote: »

Thinking of purchasing weighing scales for weighing cattle, to montior gains etc more closely and see which cattle performing better than others and the reasons why..Anyone have experience with these types of scales anything important to look out for etc?? Not cheap so want to get it right first time.Any help comments greatly appreciated?? Also would have interest in 2nd hand one provide it did the job.

hi there
priced a scales today off odonavans in cork.

eziweigh 5 and alummium base 1190 plus vat.

this was only a asking price id say a better deal could be done;).

in my view they seem the best scales on the market after looking at connacht agri scales, oneills scales and odonovans

bob charles

Am I one of the only people that dont see the potential of the weighing cattle individually. surly the time spent fannying around weighing cattle individually could be put to better use. If you cant draft up a proper diet and balance energy requirements with your target weight gain you aint at much in the first place. Thats just my take, but mainly were are too busy and would cost a couple of weeks wages to weight the animals regularly. Many of the scales I see in other guys yards seem to gather dust for some reason after a few years use, maybe the novelty wears off after a while

Tipp Man

bob charles wrote: »

Am I one of the only people that dont see the potential of the weighing cattle individually. surly the time spent fannying around weighing cattle individually could be put to better use. If you cant draft up a proper diet and balance energy requirements with your target weight gain you aint at much in the first place. Thats just my take, but mainly were are too busy and would cost a couple of weeks wages to weight the animals regularly. Many of the scales I see in other guys yards seem to gather dust for some reason after a few years use, maybe the novelty wears off after a while

When we first started taking the cattle business seriously back in the mid 80's we bought a scales and weighed all the cattle probably 3-4 times a year. going into the shed, coming out of the shed and a couple of times on grass

We haven't used the scales in about 15 or 16 years i would say - as you say Bob it just becomes too much work when you start dealing with any amount of animals.

Also with time you become a much better judge of weight and how the animals are thriving in general so it really isn't worth it to us

Bizzum

A few points I would make re: weighing:

Knowledge is power.
Cattle are usually being got in for one or another reason anyway.
The BTAP scheme requires weighing.
If you're a fan of Operation Transformation you can track your own progress in the comfort of your crush:)

MfMan

bob charles wrote: »

Am I one of the only people that dont see the potential of the weighing cattle individually. surly the time spent fannying around weighing cattle individually could be put to better use. If you cant draft up a proper diet and balance energy requirements with your target weight gain you aint at much in the first place. Thats just my take, but mainly were are too busy and would cost a couple of weeks wages to weight the animals regularly. Many of the scales I see in other guys yards seem to gather dust for some reason after a few years use, maybe the novelty wears off after a while

Weighing is handy for drafting though, particularly earlier in the grazing season when some cattle can thrive better / quicker than others. Useful for putting cattle into batches of similar weight. Maybe eye and experience does develop over time but before I got a scales I was mixing cattle not entirely correctly. Plus, if / when there comes a time that the factories are grousing about cattle being overweight at slaughter, you can identify those that can be sold sooner to suit the buyer.

lakill Farm

i was in a farmers yard a few months ago and he said his scales has paid for its self in 4 months.(a right cute hoare from cavan and all )

• He said he made an extra €300 on a bull he was selling
• he reckons he is making an extra 30e from selling cattle in his yard vs going to the mart €900(easy save on diesel, mart fees and time)
• He weights a few cows to check for condition pre calving (His crush was 36" wide for this)
• He weights yearling etc to make sure he is dosing and vacinating with correct ml per kg weight. Said he was often under dosing in the past.

It takes the guessing out.

Also other uses

* mixing meals and rations
* checking bulk bag weights been bought in

*

Tipp Man

I suppose its similar to the debate dairy farmers have on eyeballing grass versus grass measurement

Whatever works for each individual i suppose

bob charles

Tipp Man wrote: »

I suppose its similar to the debate dairy farmers have on eyeballing grass versus grass measurement

Whatever works for each individual i suppose

now your really trying to draw me out:D:D

thetangler

Hi
I bought one off O Donnovans about 4 years ago.
I find it great for 3 main reasons.
(a) Weigh a sample of cattle to see weight gain per day.
(b) Weigh a animal before going for sale in the mart, decision made on whether to bring out or feed on.
(c) Weigh before going to the factory to calculate kill out %

It is time consuming but i feel it is a worthwhile exercise.

lakill Farm

anyone buy a scales recently? i have a few cattle to sell soon and was thinking of trying to sell from my yard vs the mart. I can sell with accurate weight vs guess weight.

i have a quote for €1150 plus vat for a battery operated version
also a quote from Oneills in Kilkenny for €1100 show price and €1200 plus vat for battery price

I presume the battery is more convient that rechargeable anyway.

Who else can i have a look at for scales?

tim04750

If your cattle are nervous they'll be hard to weigh on these platform scales they just move around too much and put their heads out through the crush bars and send the weights bananas, throwing a rubber mat on the platform helps big time.
Got one of connaught agri a couple of years ago and it let in a little bit of water but they sent a courier for it, changed all the wiring in the platform and the display, they didn't try to dodge the problem ,seem sound.

MfMan

tim04750 wrote: »

If your cattle are nervous they'll be hard to weigh on these platform scales they just move around too much and put their heads out through the crush bars and send the weights bananas, throwing a rubber mat on the platform helps big time.
Got one of connaught agri a couple of years ago and it let in a little bit of water but they sent a courier for it, changed all the wiring in the platform and the display, they didn't try to dodge the problem ,seem sound.

Ya, have that problem a bit. I can hem in the beast being weighed reasonably well but sometimes they can be jerking back and forth so takes a few seconds for them to settle and be weighed properly. Another problem is that the beast often puts some of their feet on the edge of the platform rather than 4-square on the level which can lead to a reading that's slightly out. I have a narrow enough crush so had to knock out the side footing a bit (one side is the shed wall) to fit the bridge. If I was putting it in again, I would dig down into the crush race a bit so that the fitted platform would be actually level with the rest of the race rather than have them stepping up on to it. Either that or built a little ramp prior to the bridge.

Have you found the rubber mat a good job? Do they not stir it off the platform as they're exiting?

bbam

bob charles wrote: »

If you cant draft up a proper diet and balance energy requirements with your target weight gain you aint at much in the first place.

Bob..
I'll hold my hands up on this.. I've searched online for information on nutritional requirements of stock of different ages/breeds and came up with zilch, maybe I'm not looking in the right places...
Are there any resources online where I could see this or publications you'd recommend?? Herself is a nutritionist and has been saying the same... how are you sure what to feed when you don't know their requirements..

Insight appreciated..

blue5000

Has anyone looked on line at buying just the weigh cells and clock, and making up the platform themselves? I'm pretty sure all the suppliers here are doing more or less the same thing and sticking 23% vat on top.

Came across these in NZ, have to wait till they get to work before I get a price
http://www.ptglobal.com/category/90-wb-weigh-bar-scales.html
goes to 1500 kg in half kg steps

tim04750

MfMan wrote: »

Have you found the rubber mat a good job? Do they not stir it off the platform as they're exiting?

It made a big difference, the sound of their own hooves on the aluminium seems to get them worked up a bit.
I had a bit of old conveyor belt and cut two strips off it and just lay on either side of the center groove on the platform, it never moved.

pakalasa

blue5000 wrote: »

Has anyone looked on line at buying just the weigh cells and clock, and making up the platform themselves? I'm pretty sure all the suppliers here are doing more or less the same thing and sticking 23% vat on top.

Came across these in NZ, have to wait till they get to work before I get a price
http://www.ptglobal.com/category/90-wb-weigh-bar-scales.html
goes to 1500 kg in half kg steps

I have looked at this before. I even thought about buying a 'Crane Scales' and hanging the platform from the 4 corners, to a frame overhead. But crane Scales cost big money too.
I'd be carefull buying on-line as scales may be of dubious quality. Also they may not be able to handle a 'live weight', with the animal jumping around.

One tonne Crane Scales for €327.
http://www.vetek.com/Crane-scale-1-ton-/article