Ten design tips for Safer Cattle Pens
By Gala Nettles
“My family was rocked by an accident in 2006,” began author and beef advocate Ryan Goodman. “My parents worked side-by-side on our cattle ranch. On Aug. 18, while sorting cattle, my mother was manning a gate when a calf struck the gate and the result was fatal.” (Ryan Goodman, “Considerations for Work Safety When Handling Cattle” Aug 17, 2017, Beefrunner.com)
Goodman’s story is not unusual. Working cattle is ranked as one of the most dangerous occupations in the agricultural industry. Statistics prove that.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics published in 1997, cattle are responsible for the largest number of animal-related injuries. Another study by the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department of Oklahoma State University shows the majority of those happened on cow-calf operations.
No animal is more important than your life or that of someone you love. Whether you are a 1-man operator or the largest calf producer in your area, putting safety first while designing or rebuilding your stock pens may keep you out of the next statistical study. These tips are designed to do just that.
1. An escape route
Every corral needs an escape route. According to the National Agricultural Safety Database, “the most frequent types of injuries include being stepped on, being knocked down, kicked, animal bites and being pinned between an animal and a hard surface.”
By placing several escape routes around that corral, a worker can dodge an agitated animal and avoid injuries such as those cited above.
Escape routes, also known as man-gates, should be approximately 18 inches wide. That’s large enough for a man to slip through but too small for an angry cow or charging bull. In fact, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service says a good style man-gate is “an 18-inch wide spring-loaded steep flap. The gate opens inward towards the cattle and is held shut by a spring. A person can quickly escape because there is no latch to fool with.”
If your pen has corners, AgriLife Extension Service also suggests “pass-throughs” in those corners, a place to let workers in but keep cattle out, another safe escape. Search for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension publication “Design of Corrals and Squeeze Chutes for Cattle” to learn more.
2. Build to stay out of the pen
While cows have a wide range of vision, like humans they can’t see behind themselves. Neither can they see very far along their sides. Therefore, if you must get behind cattle to move them, your risk for injury escalates.
A better option is the catwalk built outside of the fence and even the smallest of operations should have one.
A study at Oregon State University suggested that catwalk platforms be approximately 42 inches below the top of the fence or wall. Some catwalk designs suggest 36 inches. Working from the side where cattle can see you lowers your chance of injury.
3. More than 1 pen
At times, workers must be in the pens on foot to move cattle. Even if your herd size is limited and every cow and calf is named, on foot in a corral is still one of the most dangerous places to be. Using several pens can make this work not only safer but also more effective.
You need at least 2 pens, one smaller than the other and joined by a gate. Designing your pen to hold the maximum number of cattle you will work at one time minimizes labor and, in turn, minimizes risk.
The article “Beef Cattle Corrals and Handling Facilities,” the project of 3 writers published by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Services, offers this formula for smaller operations. “A producer with 30 cows needs a minimum of 2 pens. One pen would hold 30 cows and 30 calves — 20 square feet per cow and 14 square feet per calf, a total of 1,020 square feet. A second holding pen, 600 square feet, would hold cows after they are sorted from the calves.”
The formula offers the safest bang for your buck. If the bigger pen is too large, handling cattle is more difficult. If the smaller pen is too small, it agitates cattle. Even while crowded, cattle still need room to move.
4. Consider the flight zone
Animal behavior is as important to pen construction as the materials you choose. Consider the flight zone of cattle. This is the area around a cow that, when encroached upon, makes her uneasy and move. There is no one-size-fits-all flight zone among cattle, so building a crowding pen too small or narrow can put a worker at risk just by entering the pen.
5. Alley size
Connecting your pens with an alley rather than a gate is not only good for moving cattle but also provides an additional holding area for sorting. If it is too narrow, though, cattle movement is inhibited and will be stressful to both of you, just like in the crowding pen. On the other hand, if it is too wide, that extra width may look like a good escape plan to a cow.
Oregon State University’s research suggested that alleys be 12 feet wide, while the Oklahoma University Fact Sheet stated alley width should be 12 to 14 feet, with a 10-foot minimum. The narrower the alley, the less likely the ability to use a horse, so one large operation insisted 20-foot alleyways worked best for them. Once again though, the best fit for you depends on your personal operation and how you plan to move cattle.
For those alleys used to move cattle toward the chute, curves and solid sides are good options. Both the curve and the solid wall keep the cattle moving forward since they see only that which is in front of them. Do your research first, since little details can make or break your curved alley.
6. Gates, your additional help
By strategically considering placement, a gate can become as handy as another worker. Gates should swing the direction of animal movement and when opened, lay completely against a pen wall. The further you can open a gate, the more enticing it is for cattle to move through it.
Gates should also be large enough for your cattle to smoothly walk through. Small openings can make cattle balk, so workers must get closer to the cattle to move them, thus increasing injury risk.
7. The buddy system
Solid walls enhance safety in more areas than do alleys funneling cattle toward chutes. Cattle prefer to be together and keeping them bunched means a safer, easier job. They also spook easily, however, which quickly changes a calm environment into an agitated and flighty one. Using solid walls in places like the crowding pens and loading chutes minimize those chances for increased anxiety.
Not knowing where workers are can also cause uneasiness. The problem is easily solved with solid walls on bottom halves of fencing and open ones on the top half.
8. Location, location, location
Design for your working pens includes placement on the ranch and not just any placement is wise. Without foresight, that quiet Farm-to-Market road with good access for trucks could be a major headache in years to come. Surburbia and even big plants moving to the country can turn any Farm-to-Market road into a noisy highway with sirens and loud trucks, worrisome to most ranchers. But there is more.
According to research by the Department of Animal Science at Colorado State University, “the auditory sensitivity of cattle is greatest at 8,000 Hz. The human ear is most sensitive at 100-3,000 Hz.”
That means they can almost hear you whisper. A little research with your state and county might keep you from unsavory working conditions with stressful cattle in the future.
Even facilities built in remote areas can have noise you don’t notice but cattle do. They hear the noisy gate, the clanging chain. Silencing them makes for safer working conditions.
From an animal theft perspective, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) special rangers encourage ranchers to avoid building working pens near a road. You may intend to be back shortly to load those cattle in a pen next to the road, but a thief with a bag of feed may get them loaded and be gone before you know it.
9. Sort out the shadows
“Cattle have poor depth perception when they are moving with their heads up,” says Temple Grandin of Colorado State University, the guru for moving animals. “To see depth, they have to stop and put their heads down. This is the reason why they balk at shadows and strange objects on the ground.”
Using Grandin’s wisdom, visit your site location several times during a day. Watch shadows fall and light filter among them. If you can’t fix it, consider plan B. Any place that might stress an animal means a less safe environment for you.
10. Fine-tune the design
Safety is in the details. Is concrete in the plan? Rough it for easier footing. Groove walkways and high-traffic areas to minimize slipping. While use and time will deteriorate even the best-built pen, budgeting for the best materials can help prevent injury later.
Awareness
Be prepared for the unexpected. According to statistics, the major cause of cattle-related deaths is blunt force trauma to the head or chest. To minimize the chances for those traumas, understand a cow’s flight zone, their noise sensitivity, their depth perception and use them as decision-making tools when designing your facilities.
Still, accidents happen, so place contact numbers for medical assistance on weatherproof signs and securely post several on solid pen walls or gates. A quick call for help can be the difference in life or death in a critical accident.
Safety first. It’s the best way to keep you, your loved ones, and your workers from becoming a statistic.
Additional Video Clips
Clips are in Windows Media format and will download to your computer.
Moving cattle quietly with a flag by using flight zone and point of balance principles. (36 second video/1550KB file)
Moving cattle quietly through a crowd pen. (15 second video/696KB file)
Moving cattle quietly out of a gate. (25 second video/1091KB file)
For More Information please visit Temple Grandin’s Website.
“Safer Cattle Pens” is excerpted from the January 2018 issue of The Cattleman magazine. Join today to start your subscription.