DIY sheep hurdles

Conmaicne Mara

Am thinking of making my own sheep hurdles, priced some steel ones today and thought a bit dear.

Saw some on DoneDeal with what I think are called eye bolts? so you can join three or 4 like so + for pens with drop down pins, good idea.

Anyone made their own?

AnFeirmeoir

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

Am thinking of making my own sheep hurdles, priced some steel ones today and thought a bit dear.

Saw some on DoneDeal with what I think are called eye bolts? so you can join three or 4 like so + for pens with drop down pins, good idea.

Anyone made their own?

Bought some and made some. The bought ones will be here when I'm gone.
The ones i made will be in a gap in a couple of years.
I say buy them. Lighter and can be stored outside.
I bought the ones I have over a couple of years from Cormacs . Can keep adding to it when your feeling flush

Username John

Made a few before out of timber.

I put two hinges to join two hurdles together. I thought twould keep em a bit more secure as well.
The eye bolts would be a better job I think.

I also bought a few proper ones from Cormac last year. They are much better, and way handier. I only use the ones i made for lambing, as they are heavy and awkward. Whereas the steel ones I use all the time, for squeezing ewes when dosing, or dividing pens, etc.

As last poster said, they bought ones are much better, but they are more expensive.

Conmaicne Mara

Only want about six or eight for lambing, IF I get the tunnel up in time, they'd be inside all the time. Plan on making a race for working with the sheep so wouldn't be belting them around with that craic.

Wooly Admirer

Timber ones are a waste of time in my experience, over time they degrade, get loose/wobbly, lats get broken. Using a few brands of steel gates here, find Cormac the best job.

If you wanna go cheap - get your hands on fertiliser pallets (feed pallets even better, but they charge for them around here). Cut the top third off the pallet and you've got a nice sturdy little hurdle.

Disadvantages - they're bulky and you're looking at twine to join them, even though it prob would be possible to do a tidy job with eye bolts and some cheap, light rebar to join them.

Wouldn't advise to cut the pallet in half - you will have ewes coming out over them.

Green farmer

First year lambing I used old scaffolding bars and tied pallets that I got for free. Ok but sheep kept poking at them until they were able to escape.second year I bought cheap ones made from threaded bar painted, which have rusted after one year. Last year I bought galvanised cormac ones. It's a pain but, once you have good stuff it's there for life. Also when I had the pallets tied together I knew that all it took was for one to come loose when I was climbing over and I'd have ended up with a broken leg or something. Like all things sheep related, the right equipment makes all the difference.

J.O. Farmer

I have to agree with everyone else here splash out and buy the hurdles. If you only want 6-8 it won't be a fortune more than it will cost you to make your own especially if you have any value on your time.
They're awful handy for lots of things. Like when ewes lamb if you want to load the ewes and lambs in a trailer to put them out put a hurdle in the front of the trailer put the lambs behind it and the ewes are easy loaded.
The bought hurdles are very light too if you want to move them and they will stand up to fair abuse.

Farrell

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

I have to agree with everyone else here splash out and buy the hurdles. If you only want 6-8 it won't be a fortune more than it will cost you to make your own especially if you have any value on your time.
They're awful handy for lots of things. Like when ewes lamb if you want to load the ewes and lambs in a trailer to put them out put a hurdle in the front of the trailer put the lambs behind it and the ewes are easy loaded.
The bought hurdles are very light too if you want to move them and they will stand up to fair abuse.

But would they stand up to the abuse of a race, like the multi tasking idea myself

Conmaicne Mara

Farrell wrote: »

But would they stand up to the abuse of a race, like the multi tasking idea myself

Galvanised hurdles break too. Have seen plenty of the ould fellas ones, which join via a loop, break at the loop. Met a guy one day loading hurdles into his trailer and asked him about them, they were the pin type, he said the "tabs" the pin dropped through were breaking off and bending very easy.

Some of the brand new pin type ones I saw today had their "tabs" bent already!

I was thinking of making ones like these:

http://www.donedeal.ie/sheep-for-sale/award-winning-sheep-gates-and-troughs/5372269

Nekarsulm

Bought 10 factory made ones a few months ago. The one you drop a bar down through 2 loops (bit od box actually) Finding them really handy now that I have them. The time involved in welding up home made ones would be a turn off, along with the fact that if you use light bars, they are a pain to weld, if you use heavy bars, they are a pain to move. Steel has got expensive, and even with new box iron its not as easy to cut every piece the same length, or even square. Then its a pain to weld without blowing holes etc.

Also as the bought ones are galvanized, they should last.

Green farmer

Whatever works best for you con, the only thing about wooden ones, and I don't know if these is any truth to it is,I was told that the wooden ones can harbour bugs and skin diseases that can transfer from sheep to sheep, especially when lambing indoors. Maybe that's another reason the metal ones are more popular.

Conmaicne Mara

Possibly so, though there are a fair number of pallets and also wooden framed pens in use in sheep housing through out the country.

paddysdream

Have 4ft. and 8ft. ones here.Made from 1" steel tubing.They join together top and bottom and ain't too heavy to move about.

Think they cost about 20 each for the 4ft ones.Have about 60 or 70 4 ft. ones and 20 8ft. ones.The first of them are here 15 plus years and only damaged ones are those driven over!.Factory made and painted.Have fostering gates and creep/hogget feeders which the gates fit on to also.

Find them very handy and after lambing finishes use them for pens outside for dosing/drafting etc.Very simple to move 20 or 30 on the loader forks.

Neighbour has the same gates and we borrow from one another as needed as we lamb at different times.

Will put up a few pictures tonight.

Farrell

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

Galvanised hurdles break too. Have seen plenty of the ould fellas ones, which join via a loop, break at the loop. Met a guy one day loading hurdles into his trailer and asked him about them, they were the pin type, he said the "tabs" the pin dropped through were breaking off and bending very easy.

Some of the brand new pin type ones I saw today had their "tabs" bent already!

I was thinking of making ones like these:

http://www.donedeal.ie/sheep-for-sale/award-winning-sheep-gates-and-troughs/5372269

Though the same as you, but hard to get the time. I think €10 per 4ft hurl (wood only) + time, hinge, bar & nails after

Farrell

paddysdream wrote: »

Have 4ft. and 8ft. ones here.Made from 1" steel tubing.They join together top and bottom and ain't too heavy to move about.

Think they cost about 20 each for the 4ft ones.Have about 60 or 70 4 ft. ones and 20 8ft. ones.The first of them are here 15 plus years and only damaged ones are those driven over!.Factory made and painted.Have fostering gates and creep/hogget feeders which the gates fit on to also.

Find them very handy and after lambing finishes use them for pens outside for dosing/drafting etc.Very simple to move 20 or 30 on the loader forks.

Neighbour has the same gates and we borrow from one another as needed as we lamb at different times.

Will put up a few pictures tonight.

Thought of 4x8ft to make up a race, with some more used to make up holding pen, & could be used for lambing pens,
but saw some light galvanised ones (pin & lug option), they were light (handy for carring) but damaged, which has put back step on.
How heavy would yours be?

arctictree

Bought hurdles from these lads last year:

http://www.donedeal.ie/sheep-for-sale/sheep-gates-feeders-foot-baths/6395113

Couldn't recommend them more. No breakages yet and they are really flexible/handy.

Lano Lynn

have both steel and timber hurdles,
prefer timber for lambing pens,
started with fertiliser pallets totally dismantled can make three and a half hurdles out of one pallet plus kindling left over.but they do need to be kept inside.
bought 4x1 treated over the years to make up replacements.if they are kept dry they are light and versitile
and when ya do stupid stuff like hit them with the tractor ya can burn them:)
there are a lot of bad metal hurdles to be got,
hook&loop are worse than useless.
cormac are useful if you have quiet sheep,the little joiner tube makes them very flexible/dragable.
if you have more athletic types ya need 1m high but they often have rails to far apart to keep in very small lambs.

Nekarsulm

These are the things I got. 6 foot by 3 foot. 32.50 each from a nice lad from Wexford with a large van (white), by the name of Connors.

Also keeps kids out of spare room............

paddysdream

Farrell wrote: »

Thought of 4x8ft to make up a race, with some more used to make up holding pen, & could be used for lambing pens,
but saw some light galvanised ones (pin & lug option), they were light (handy for carring) but damaged, which has put back step on.
How heavy would yours be?

Couple of pictures.Pretty sad looking ewe in the fostering gate!
Cast ewe that slipped through the net,went in lamb and then had two dead ones about a week before her time.Bit of milk though so will use her to keep a lamb going until find one worth fostering onto.

Lano Lynn

Nekarsulm wrote: »

These are the things I got. 6 foot by 3 foot. 32.50 each from a nice lad from Wexford with a large van (white), by the name of Connors.

Also keeps kids out of spare room............

thats a good price cormac are 7e a foot.

think tams grant can be used to buy hurdles which is better value for money than fencing 'grant'

sure what do you need pens when ya have a spare room;)

Conmaicne Mara

Been emailing on DD and I figure I'll make my own, delivery is killing me for the cheaper metal ones on DD, and the local ones are dear IMO. Will price timber tomorrow, need to for troughs and the tunnel bits anyway.

Conmaicne Mara

Lano Lynn wrote: »

sure what do you need pens when ya have a spare room;)

Sure that's where he sets up the pens.

Nekarsulm

Ewes in the spare room, right enough. In-laws can shiver in the shed. Gotta get the priorities right

J.O. Farmer

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Ewes in the spare room, right enough. In-laws can shiver in the shed. Gotta get the priorities right

Otherwise the in laws might get the wrong idea and think they're welcome. Who knows how that might end. They might keep coming round.

Nekarsulm

You might make something out of the sheep, you'll make nothing out of the in-laws !

Lano Lynn

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Ewes in the spare room, right enough. In-laws can shiver in the shed. Gotta get the priorities right

jez ur a tight ass would ya not turn on the infra red in the shed;)

gazahayes

Diy dividing gate I made hope these photos come up

tomwaterford

I made my own timber ones
6 x 1 '' five foot long
3x2'' 3 foot long both bought out of saw mill

nailed together with 4'' space between each board,ideal length as you wont brace on them at that length
I tie together at corners with baling twine off square bales of hay,find them cheap and do do the job at 5 feet I find I find ideal length for lambing pens
also are light to handle/move around after the timber dried out

total cost 7 euro per gate + my own time could make 8 an hour without overly killing myself:D (this was two years ago so timber prices may have changed)