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Crush Gates

Thekeencyclist

Has anyone recently got a new crush gate, i'm looking to invest in a gate come the new year so just wondering if anyone has any feedback based on experience with the gates mentioned below (or other manufacturers). Any advantages / disadvantages etc

At the minute I'm looking at the following 4:

O'Donovan Engineering - Odel Crush Gate

https://www.odonovaneng.ie/product/crush-gate/

Condon Engineering - Semi Automatic

https://condonengineering.ie/product/condon-semi-auto-gate/

Teemore Engineering Crush Gate

https://www.teemoreengineering.com/crushes-handling/teemore-crush-gate.php

Teemore Semi Automatic (looks to be a similar gate to the Condon Semi Automatic)

I'm also wondering is the cage a necessity with these style of gates?? I'm assuming the cage is there to allow the animal to be coaxed into easily allowing its head out beyond the gate so that the gate can be then locked??

TIA!

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minerleague

Most of the semi automatic gates are much the same, needs the animal to push through to lock themselves in ( can be slow to do this if say you are trying to catch them over a few days for course of antibiotics or sore eyes ) The cage is used in the Morris type gates where you pull a lever to catch an animal (supposed to be best but may cost more )

mr.stonewall

Morris type gate or a varient with a handle to close from behind the animal a super job. Had one of the above for years and changed last year to a Morris type. It's night and day. Cattle see the full opening and each to catch from the cranky one to the really quiet one. A backing gate or vet gate behind the first animal is also a big help. Nothing worse to have animals to run at a gate to lock of them. Them you have to adjust the size of the gate to the animal. The Morris types you can catch a bull or a calf with no adjusting.

cute geoge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118327389#Comment_118327389

What was the damage to your pocket and has it the cage infront

whelan2

We have the condon gate. Need 2 people to get it to close right. Had a weanling got it's head stuck in the bottom bit, it should be covered .

mr.stonewall

No cage at the front as was part of a mobile crush with weigh bars and sliding back gate. Came to over 4k+vat. Got tams grant on it so it made it cheaper.

Not sure of the exact cost of the gate but it was about the €500 dearer than the standard locking gate. Had my mind made up that it had to the Morris type gate after years of hardship with the Semi automatic gate.

Barrett engineering do a nice one, condons have one and clipex have a rolls Royce one.

Once you use the Morris style nothing else will do. It really helps cattle flow

mr.stonewall

Barretts one is about €1k + vat and looks like it has to be adjusted with a threaded bar.

I have a condon warrior gate, bit of an issue in the beginning as the mechanism to hold was slipping and this was a problem with some of the earlier one, heavier catches were put in fixed the problem. No issue from them, just came an replaced it one day.

Beauty of the gate is there is no adjusting to accommodate animal size, calf to bull, no messing, just pull the handle

Thekeencyclist

Thanks All for the feedback, I'm now leaning towards the Teemore Crush Gate as it can have a Cage on it and the rear lever which will be a good benefit.

Existing crush gate is prob 50+ years old, still works but obv there are handier + safer options out there now so the investment for the cage and rear lever will be worth it in the end! I'd probably be giving out to myself if I bought a gate without these options.

mr.stonewall

Over 20-30 years it's a small cost. can't put a price on working cattle safely

greysides

With those semi-automatics, get one with both neck bars adjustable - solves the problem of the weanling with its head suck in the bottom. It also allows adjustment should the two sides not close together (when they get out of synch and one side locks before the other).

greysides

Also, obvious though it is once you cop it, for tall animals, raise the whole gate during installation. They can easily step over the ground bar - it's daft for them to have to duck under to clear the top.

Also, also... bring someone with when you're buying the gate. Stand it up and work the mechanism. You're looking for ease of movement. It shouldn't require excessive forcing to open the head gate. Bits of galvanise can interfere with parts moving. The neck bars should be adequately caught by the flaps and not just held by a couple of millimeters. It should lock open, but make sure it engages and disengages easily. Check ALL the adjustment settings for the neck bar pegs- all holes may not align properly. The handle can usually be swapped from one side to the other to suit the gates location (no, you don't need to knock blocks out of the wall). You will need to adjust how far back the sides open in prior to use (there's a bolt with two nuts underneath the hood for that).

mr.stonewall

@greysides From your professional experience what type of skulling gate do you like working with.

minerleague

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332614#Comment_118332614

I thought that ground bar should be set in concrete for strength?

hopeso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118333108#Comment_118333108

Bolted into the ground at least, I think......You'd think they'd make the gates high enough for an animal to get out under it?

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118333331#Comment_118333331

Setting them in concrete leaves them far too low. Not sure bolting them is even necessary, have a few crush gates and none of them are bolted to the ground and we’d handle mostly heavy bulls and continental cattle.

MfMan

Not entirely sure does Niall Barrett manufacture his own, or just resell them for another fabricator.

Have you looked at the Nugent range? I've a semi-automatic and it works well. Animals with horns can be a challenge though and not so easy dose them with the hook doser when required if they don't push through.

greysides

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332862#Comment_118332862

Ones like the two pictured above.

What I don't like is this one:

Very easy to bruise your elbow pulling down. Neck bars are only secured by the top arm.

There's another similar gate where two metal chocks go up/down together, at either side of the top of the neck bars. A very bad design. If you wish to release an animal back into the crush, as both chocks go up together, you run the risk of letting the animal come forward.

Letting animals out means keeping a pull on the hanging bar...... standing close enough to the front of the animal that it goes back in, not out... and you can't let go to go back to chase it out. That flaw may have been fixed by now.

Raising the headgate off the ground may be necessary for some tall Holstein cattle.

Thekeencyclist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332382#Comment_118332382

If whichever one I get can last as long as whats there now and provides a lot more ease & safety when working with animals then it will be the best investment on any farm.

Thekeencyclist

In the end, I went with the Barrett Gate, should have it mid January!

davidk1394

I went with the semi automatic Condon gate. It's OK, that's about it. It can be easily adjusted to suit the animal.

Thekeencyclist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118369919#Comment_118369919

The Morris gate version with cage.

Thekeencyclist

Gate arrived last week, got it fitted at the weekend. Not the hardest of jobs but more time consuming with concrete to be broke up to move a post beside the wall for the gate into the field a few inches :-( and a bit of carving into the wall to allow the head gate to sit flush against the wall. Pic attached of it fitted. I'm thinking I could take a couple of feet off the end of the lever used to open and lock the gate from behind the animal, has anyone ever cut a couple of feet off and were you glad that you did or did you regret it? (before I do cut it).

I also got the anti backing bar (Semi) which seems to be a good job as well. (And thanks again to everyone for their feedback above)

IMG_20220201_131625.jpg

mr.stonewall

Mighty job.

Don't rush to cut the bar. With cattle they want to move away from you. Way easier to lock the head to the wilder ones from behind the animal.

Have the condons one and it has two levers one at the front and one behind. The Barret one seems a bit different

A handy thing to do is set a pen up at the opposite side of crush wall and hang the gate that it there the opposite way. Can make it very easy and quick to sort and pull cattle out of a group

Again well done and a might job, you won't regret it

The Rabbi

Looking at the Barrett mobile crush video,I think that long bar in your picture is turned by a handle that can slide along it.

If that is how it works it might be better to extend it and put a support up from the back pillar.

Who2

I wouldn’t cut it, I’ve the condon one and you will still get caught the odd time with a stubborn one.

something I noticed , I may be wrong but is your cage not going to catch on the gate behind it going into the field. Watch out for the gate catch it sticks out a bit and can drag against a cow racing out.

i mentioned it to condons and they came out and changed the hinge bracket to a more cranked type so it would swing further out of the way. I have to say they have a great service that way.

Thekeencyclist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567395#Comment_118567395

Yip I have a handle there to slide onto the bar, I do need to add a bracket from the wall over to the bar for support and to stop it from drooping down to head level anyway but want to figure out if I should cut it or not first.... I'll prob leave it the length it is for now I think and determine after some use if I should cut it or not....

Thekeencyclist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567808#Comment_118567808

Nope I had to move the post for that gate back towards the field a few inches which leaves enuf space to open that gate etc, I'll prob add brackets at some point I think to allow the cage to be hung from either side....it's a straight run from the crush gate into the slatted shed anyway.

50HX

Came across this last week.....Best one I've seen yet

DBK1

I need to upgrade the main crush here and want to make the job safer too.

Are lads opinions still much the same? I’ve been looking at Condon, Teemore and Morris crush’s and wondering if a manual squeeze crush is worth the extra premium, approx €1,700 extra from Condon’s over their supreme crush?

Are the morris type gates still the preferred option too?

Thekeencyclist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122518558#Comment_122518558

Morris style gate here (pic attached above earlier in this thread), 100% cant fault it, I havent been caught yet with not been able to catch an animals head. I since also got the headscoop from NBE and it made dosing the cows and bull such an easy task!!!

mr.stonewall

Having a sliding gate behind the first animal in these style crushes makes the job easier. Let's you control the speed of the animal towards the head gate. Gives you time with the lively one and speeds up the job with the quiet on.

Condons one here with a squeeze, head scoop and scales done under tams.