Calf Trap

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Some pictures of recent project. Calf trap for doctoring calves in the field. Lots of clamps. 21 clamps used per frame to get things tacked up.Al Attached ImagesA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:looks good so far, post us some finished pics!!If I were building something like that, I'd likely just lay the first one out on the floor, and square each rail then tack, then assemble and tack the second one on top of the first, using the first as the template..  How will this one work??  Is it the end to a chute set up, or will you have to wrestle each calf into it??  what are you doing on the head end??
Reply:This is a job for a local cattleman. He said he'd been thinking about it for a while and when we met the other day things come together. Had to have a way to fab it pretty efficiently - time is money. This will be made to fit on a tractor bucket bale spear. What he wants to do is be able to set the trap over the calf and cut off mama cow so he can get in and do the doctoring without mama killing him. It will be able to pull the tractor off and drive along side to climb in with the calf. Should be later tonite there will be more finished pictures. The drawing shows the design. Attached ImagesA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:My friends that run cattle use a corral with two pens, a squeeze chute and sometimes a headgate.  Bring them in the night before, separate out the mommas and bulls from the calves.  Then next day after a night of bawling, just toss em and work em or if they've gotten too big run them through the chute.  Not sure I see how a tractor is going to be able to move around and pull that off before the calf moves out of the way.  I've never seen or done it that way, but I'd like to see a video of him doing it.  It would be pretty cool if it works, and pretty funny if it doesn't.  He must not have a lot of calves to do?  It's an interesting idea.
Reply:I ain't never seen it done myself either. I'm just going by the specs he gave me so far.He said he done it before with a round bale feeder somehow. I know he likes to get the calves done pretty much as soon as they're born. I am going to get some video of him doing it when we get it going. If it works good I might market it some. I gotta put some night hours in on it tonight cause we might be moving hay and cattle tomorrow. But I'll try and remember get some pictures to put up later now that it's far enough along that it looks like something.AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:Looks good! I've seen these before but only in cattlemen magazines. I can understand there usefulness especially around ol bossy. Looking at your drawing, it appears that there is only a single spear on the loader. You will have to centre the bale spear brkt dead on or the cage will rotate on the bale spear wouldn't you? Is his bale spear mount on the bucket or is it a quick attach to the loader? Is there someway to keep the cage from rotating?
Reply:The bale spear has a 1/4" gusset under it. I plasma cut and ground a slot in the pipe to fit over that. That should keep it from rotating. The bale spear mounts to the bucket with 1 bolt. It isn't one of the ones I build but similar. Dinner is done, wife says my union ain't all that strong so break is over. I'll take the camera out to the shop with me. Might make more sense with some pictures. AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:I'm sure the spear will support the cage no problem. It's an interesting idea.What is going to prevent the cage from rotating? Wouldn't it be better to mount a quick connect mount plate on the cage rather than using the spear?  What Kind of tractor is he using?If you pass the spear into the cage... would it interferer too much? I'm thinking three short pieces of pipe welding into the cage would work. See my quick render.  Maybe mount the spear tubes high if they interfere. Attached Images
Reply:looks good so far, post us some finished pics!!
Reply:Was a late night. Got some pictures then left the camera in the shop. Pictures later today.For rotation, the gusset on the spear assembly will fit in a slot in the receiver pipe underneath.At least that's the plan. Drawings may make more sense. There will be some "field engineering trials". We may need to do some modifications on the fly. I would have preferred to build a matching tractor mount but he already had the spear and had to work with it. Don't want the spears going through anywhere for safety...for both man and animal. That was my main concern in the design. All the bracing is set between rails, all welds ground smooth,  square tubing for no sharp edges etc. He gasped a little at the price at first but I told him I wouldn't build anything I didn't think was safe. I had him stop by yesterday to see what it it will look like. The smile was priceless. Al Attached ImagesA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:Believe I would have welded a receiver square tube to the catcher, then built a clamp on tube steel ram for the bucket.
Reply:I'd of done a few things different also but I had to work within what he had set up. It was a bit pricey when done so tried to manage costs along with function. Always like walking a tightrope. Attached ImagesA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:Nuther picture. Attached ImagesA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:It's deffinately a cool idea. but I'm not sure I'd want the tractor letting go of that. I'd think a pissed off cow would be able to move it around pretty good.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:It goes 650 pounds so it is pretty stable. But yes cattle could move it. But he was using a round bale feeder before and the ones from the farm store are pretty light duty. I think if it got western at least he'll be in the pen and mama be outside. Made it 5 foot tall to discourage them from trying to jump in. But with livestock never know. When I delivered it found out that the gusset underneath had some repair weld and first couple tries it got wedged in the slot of the pipe. Had to get pretty enthusiastic with a 70 series John Deere and a 3/4 ton Chevy to get it back off. So it got abuse tested right from the start. Ground down the blob of weld and ground open the slot a little and now she slides right on. Little too much precision in the design. Calving has started round here so we'll see how she goes.AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:Cool Al, very nice and clean work. What did you weld it with, stick? I hope these work and you get a big order for them. I will bring out the Commander. suitcase feeder and my appetite! If I get this job I'm waiting on, I might see you sooner."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Be interesting to work with.  Hard to deadeye the bale spike in the piece of pipe.  Most times you have a hard time seeing the exact end of the bale spike on a front end loader. If it's one mounted on the 3pt.you can see the tip clearly.I'd add a cone shaped thingy to help the spike find the pipe without being dead on, or exactly leveled with the pipe.  Sort of like a funnel."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Yes seeing the spear is a difficulty. Takes some getting used to but he tried it a few times and seemed to be doing ok. Talked about maybe making a special spear to be above the bucket. Continuous improvement process.I was going to call you this weekend Stickman but when he came over he said calves alrady started so I wanted to get it delivered asap. You really need to get down here though and check things out. Maybe could find some good work for your equipment. We'll plan it out and I'll have you meet a few guys that know a few guys, that know a few guys, etc.I think a wire feeder is next on the list. I stick'd it all. That's my way, but wire probably be quicker. AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:Glad it was put right to use. What if you remove the spear and weld some chains to the top rail. Then you can tilt the bucket and put the chains in the keepers on the bucket. The bottom edge of the bucket will ride against the cage. This will shorten the whole assembly and you'd still be able to tilt the cage easily.Of course... after I wrote that... I suspect the machine in the photo was your machine... not the customers.
Reply:One of the design requirements was to be able to hook into and unhook without leaving tractor. Also had to fit his existing spear. The pictures are with my tractor and spear. By time got delivered and fitted it was too dark for pictures of his rig.Overall worked out well. Strong enough, stable on his rig, cosmetically decent. Kept cost down as much as I could but made a few spending dollars. We may make a few changes as he uses it and sees how it works.AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:That looks really good and a whole lot of welds to keep square all over.  Nice job! Occured to me it's probably a lot less stress on the cow calf if he's working them right after calving but I'm no aggie.  Now, if it DOES get western, or he has to chase one across the pasture, I beg you to post a vid on youtube.   I'd pay serious money to see that rodeo... maybe this could be a new event and replace team roping??
Reply:Yep I gotta see this thing work myself. Could be a hoot. I'd just soon rope em and drag em from back of a good pony. Course that's if you got some youngins to do the flankin and doctoring on the ground. Seems to be harder to find help for anything that don't involve a cell phone or two legged heifers. Maybe if I make another one we can give new meaning to the sport of team penning. Two old men on tractors with a big gizmo hanging out front. Cow and her baby trying to run and laugh at the same time. AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:Interesting project.  I think the whole point of the pen is to keep the mama cow outside, not so much to catch the calf.  If you spot that calf at day old, they are easy to sneak up on and drop something like this over without much rodeoing, you don't need the cage to catch the calf, but mama is very protective. Much past a day or two, you will not be catching a calf with this on the tractor anyway if the cows are mean enough to need this cage.I would have trouble threading that spike into the tube.  If I were to build one for my loader, I found on my bale feeders that I could just run it under the top tube, and lift it up.  I would reinforce the top tube on one side and just pick it up that way.Thanks for the project report.