Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
with a crook when you're standing in the center. Typically, the outer walls of
all pens are 3½ to 4 feet (1 to 1.3 m) tall.
The forcing pen is used to confi ne smaller groups and, when necessary,
to force them into chutes. For small fl ocks, forcing pens can also be used for
collecting sheep for shearing or for placing them in sheep chairs for hoof
trimming. The forcing pen should have solid sides and for on-site construc-
tion can be made out of plywood, metal, or boards. The forcing pen should be
heavy duty, because the pressure of the sheep against the sidewalls can break
down a poorly constructed wall.
Chutes are used for medical treatment and sorting. A chute should also
have solid walls, and it should be narrow enough to ensure that the sheep
enter in single fi le. Gates can control ingress and egress from the chutes. For
small fl ocks, a 15- to 20-foot-long (4.5 to 6.1 m) chute is adequate; owners
of large fl ocks (more than 150 head) can benefi t from increasing the chute
Good handling facilities can make your life a lot easier or even hasslefree. This design
has several different holding pens for sorting animals and gates that move in either
direction. If you place water tanks and salt or treats in holding pens on a regular basis,
the sheep will be motivated to move in and out of the pens and are then fairly easy to
catch in the pens when you need to work with them.