Sheep Hurdles

ihatewinter

Hey at the moment, I'm using wooden pallets and gates and they are doing my head in, too heavy and breaking.

Anyway I came across sheep hurdles like this. Would they be strong enough for lambing shed and a quick pen in a field. Thanks

ganmo

They're heavy too but much easier to lug around than pallets
If I was using them as a pen in a field they'll need to be tied together. There's nothin worse than gettin de buggers in only for them to break out again

Cran

ihatewinter wrote: »

Hey at the moment, I'm using wooden pallets and gates and they are doing my head in, too heavy and breaking.

Anyway I came across sheep hurdles like this. Would they be strong enough for lambing shed and a quick pen in a field. Thanks

Have a few similar for adoption pens. I wouldn't recommend for large pens, too heavy and I think they'd buckle under strain. Go for tubular gates rather than these rebar ones would be my recommendation if worth anything.

ihatewinter

Grand thanks for the replies. I'll keep looking and get something lighter for myself.

Cattlepen

Hav a few rebar ones. They are awkward enough to handle wit the narrow bars and the weight of them. Buffalo steel on done deal make good ones.

fanadman1

Bought myself some in the summer and tbh i am never ever going back to pallats again so much better i can carry them 2 at a time no problem bought them of buffalo steel on donedeal great job in the shed i accualy built my handleing facitly with one

Username John

I would agree with the others - those would be too heavy.

I bought some off Cormac before, and whilst not the cheapest, they seem good quality. I had a look at those Buffalo steel ones, and they seem good too.

The Cormac ones work with a seperate pin, to keep em together, rather than the hook-over ones. Any idea which is best?
I guess I can see how the pin ones would be better maybe if you would putting 4 gates together in a 'cross' kinda shape(making it a number of lambing pens deep) but aside from that, I am not sure which is better?

OP - PM sent there as well.

Green farmer

Lads, I filled in the farm safety grant application to buy a load of those galvanised gates, in combination with a race. Means you get the expensive galvanised cormac or buffalo gates for the same price as the cheaper basic painted gates once the grant is added back. Only drawback is you have to spend €2k on capital items.
If you only wanted a handful of cheap gates without spending much money, the painted rebar ones are fine. Their way better then pallets. You just need to paint them every few years and tie them if using on soft ground.
Whatever gate you use, you can never have enough of them, when working with sheep!!!

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

Lads, I filled in the farm safety grant application to buy a load of those galvanised gates, in combination with a race. Means you get the expensive galvanised cormac or buffalo gates for the same price as the cheaper basic painted gates once the grant is added back. Only drawback is you have to spend €2k on capital items.
If you only wanted a handful of cheap gates without spending much money, the painted rebar ones are fine. Their way better then pallets. You just need to paint them every few years and tie them if using on soft ground.
Whatever gate you use, you can never have enough of them, when working with sheep!!!

I used to buy a few Cormac gates every year, I find them good have some more than 20 years, even have the old painted ones and never painted them and they're still there,
They fit together very well and can be used in any combination....have a couple of races here as well.,

arctictree

Username John wrote: »

I would agree with the others - those would be too heavy.

I bought some off Cormac before, and whilst not the cheapest, they seem good quality. I had a look at those Buffalo steel ones, and they seem good too.

The Cormac ones work with a seperate pin, to keep em together, rather than the hook-over ones. Any idea which is best?
I guess I can see how the pin ones would be better maybe if you would putting 4 gates together in a 'cross' kinda shape(making it a number of lambing pens deep) but aside from that, I am not sure which is better?

OP - PM sent there as well.

I've used both and find the ones with the pins much better. As you say, you can put more than two together when needed. Also, they tend to stay together much better, hard to explain. The loop at the base can also damage very easily if the top becomes undone and it gets pushed over.

Got mine delivered off this lad:

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

Green farmer

arctictree wrote: »

I've used both and find the ones with the pins much better. As you say, you can put more than two together when needed. Also, they tend to stay together much better, hard to explain. The loop at the base can also damage very easily if the top becomes undone and it gets pushed over.

Got mine delivered off this lad:

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

Hard to know. I've got the cormac ones and some painted thread rebar ones. I'd agree with the comment on the cormac ones have a bit of unwanted movement in them if you want to make up 15 ft group pens. I've mentioned this shortcoming to cormac. The flip side of this if your meal feeding and there's a lot of pushing, ( my sheep are big lowland, and I've seen them going crazy and twisting fences from pushing, because a neighbouring pen of sheep got their meal first ) the design between the gates absorbs the force and stops the gates from getting bent or breaking off. Also unlike the loop ones the gates won't separate if on uneven ground.
When making big pens this year, I was thinking of running 2x2 lengths of timber along the hurdles and tying with cable ties to stop movement.


Anyone have those lightweight aluminium type pens they use in England ? They seem very good as well

ihatewinter

Well I went with the Cormac one's. I bought 15 for the moment and will buy another 25-30 in March to use for lambing

Green farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

They fit together very well and can be used in any combination....have a couple of races here as well.,

Any advice to me on a race rangler ?

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

Any advice to me on a race rangler ?

I've only Cormac here, the only criticism is that they are not adjustable in width, lambs would break your heart turning in it, also I gave up trying to footbath anything in the race, too hard to get them into it, Made a cheap concrete one instead, it's nearly square and the ewes bring the lambs into it.
Definitely if I was buying a race again, I'd try and have the width easily adjusted